MUMBAI:  Three new social awareness commercials of the Ministry of Tourism featuring actor Aamir Khan was  released by Tourism Minister Kumari Selja.

Khan is also a brand ambassador for the Atithi Devo Bhava campaign which was launched in 2004-2005, to  sensitize  stakeholders  in  the tourism  industry  as  well  as the public about their  conduct  and  attitude  towards  tourists. In  2008-2009, the Ministry  of  Tourism  associated with  Khan for spreading social awareness messages.

Minister of State for Tourism Shri Sultan Ahmed and Secretary Tourism Shri Sujit Banerjee with senior officials of the ministry were present on the occasion.

Earlier two TV commercials, featuring  Khan were  produced  on the  subjects :-  Molestation  of  Women  Tourists  and  Graffiti on  Monuments which were  launched  on  select  TV  channels,   Radio  FM  stations  and   news-papers  including   regional  vernaculars. 

The three new commercials featuring Khan have now been produced on the following themes: On Which Side Are You which is a 60 second film that shows the positive and negative sides  of  human  behavior  towards  the  tourists. The film has been shot in Mumbai and Agra.

The second commercial  is a 40 second film called Shoe Seller. The  film  gives  a  message  of  honest  practices  in  tourism. This film has been shot in Delhi Haat in Delhi.

The third commercial is called Lady in Ladakh and is about  getting  help  from  a  village  lady  when  a  Japanese  girl  misses  her  last  bus. The film’s duration is 60 seconds and has been shot in Leh- Ladakh.

The script for all the commercials have been written by Prasoon Joshi and has been directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra