They’re a happy-go-lucky couple — all set to move to West Asia for a new career with dreams in their eyes and hopes for a brighter future. They’ve even put off having a baby till they can build that future. And now it seems like their dreams will finally come true. That is, until Adam’s medical reports come back with the verdict: he is HIV positive. And just like that, their lives collapse like a pack of cards — the job offer is withdrawn, the very foundations of their marriage shaken and uncertainty looms large.
Bhushan Gaur’s short film, There Will Be Tomorrow , deals with all this and more. It delves into the life of a person with HIV, the way he comes to terms with the condition, his concerns of ever being able to have a normal, healthy child and his wife’s undying support to help him overcome the worst curveball thrown at them by life.
“The idea behind the film is to create awareness about the lives of HIV positive people, how the virus spreads, and how most people don’t even realise they might be carrying the virus until it shows up in a routine blood work,” says Gaur. He adds, “These days, it is so easy to get HIV. It is not always sexually transmitted, but few people realise that even an unsterilised tattoo needle could be the culprit. Or for that matter, kissing someone with the virus, who might also have a gum problem. All the virus needs is to enter the blood stream.”
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Citing statistics, Gaur says, “Over two million people across the globe are unaware that they have the virus. The only prevalent symptom is weight loss {often a good sign for most} and fever {self-medication seems to be the solution here}. Many don’t even realise till the condition blows up.” And then there’s the fear of the accompanying stigma.
“Even educated people do not want to talk about it for fear of being judged. The fact is that HIV can be managed just like any other health ailment. Life need not come to a standstill.”
The idea for the film, says Gaur, came when he saw a photograph of a man with HIV holding a baby. “It was a beautiful picture and led me to research more on the subject. I eventually developed it into a script for an English language short film and began work on it. Sahil Salathia and Nimisha Mehta play the leads with an ensemble cast, mainly from the theatre industry, playing supporting roles,” explains Gaur, adding that several doctors and scientists were consulted while developing the screenplay.
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The film, which was showcased at the HIV Congress in Goa, has garnered a lot of positive reviews and is set to release online by 2017. “A pharmaceutical company wants to release it theatrically on a global forum. So, there are still a few revisions being made. But we do intend to release it online as well by next year,” says the filmmaker.