MUMBAI: Ever watched a Hindi film and groaned about the wrong notions about gender, health and law that goes on in the films? Then this news will absolutely make you happy.

The Asian Center for Entertainment Education (ACEE) has launched The Third Eye which will educate scriptwriters and directors on issues of gender, health and law so that they can get their scripts and films right.

ACEE co-founder Vinta Nanda says, “The Third Eye will ensure that storylines created for mainstream content across all media, which often dramatise fiction, can incorporate information with accuracy.”

Vinta Nanda, who wrote the TV serial ‘Tara’ in the nineties, adds, “I wrote 70 episodes which had divorce. I couldn’t get relevant information. So, I just fictionalised it.”

The Third Eye takes inspiration from Hollywood, Health and Society (HH&S). The website states that it “provides entertainment industry professionals with accurate and timely information for health storylines.”

Director and producer Mahesh Bhatt is leading this initiative in India. He says, “If a service like The Third Eye existed when I made Arth in 1983, I would have made the film differently and created the other woman, played by Smita Patil, who suffered schizophrenia with the same sympathy which I had towards the wife.

Considering cinema’s reach and how it influences society, this move could help in reducing misunderstandings about various aspects of health, gender and law. We hope to see Indian filmmakers and scriptwriters use this service to better their work.