Prayas, a Delhi-based non-government organisation working for underprivileged children, declared actors Sonakshi Sinha, Arjun Kapoor and Manoj Bajpai its brand ambassadors earlier this week.
On the reason behind choosing the actors as the brand ambassadors, Prayas general-secretary Amod Kanth said: “All three are, sort of, personally associated with Prayas. We haven’t paid them a single penny. They only took a sandwich from here in the name of food and stayed at a five-star hotel at their own expense. All we want is that they participate in our events to encourage more privileged people to work for such noble causes.”
“Shatrughan Sinha, Sonakshi’s father, has been a patron for Prayas for over two decades and was even its president for three years. This at a time when associating oneself with an NGO wasn’t exactly a norm in the film fraternity. Arjun’s uncle Anil Kapoor and Manoj too have been visiting us regularly.” For now, there is no fixed tenure of the ambassadorship, Mr. Kanth added.
Sonakshi, Arjun and Manoj interacted with the star-stuck children. A few hugs, pecks on the cheek and some encouraging words by the stars made their day.
The media, however, were kept at an arm’s length by the security personnel.
Sonakshi said: “I had heard about Prayas from my father. Being here with the children and now as the brand ambassador will help me, sort of, take the legacy of helping the children forward. I am happy to be associated with this noble cause.”
Arjun said: “Frankly, I didn’t know there are so many underprivileged children who need our help. I feel humbled after coming here. So from now on, whenever I am asked for help, I will make myself available to them.”
Manoj stole the show with his nostalgic retelling of his visit to Prayas some 20 years ago. “I visited Prayas in 1989, when it used to function from a two-room set. Now it has 214 centres across the country. It feels great to see how the organisation and Mr. Kanth are working with the same zeal they were two decades ago.”
Sonakshi and Arjun also promoted their upcoming film Tevar at the event.
