MUMBAI: A beautiful life is something that each human aspires to live. But what happens when you are lured by opportunities that seem beneficial but in reality are a nightmare? Human trafficking is a real life horror that has victimised thousands of people across the globe. In an initiative that brings light to these atrocities and works towards ending them, MTV, India’s leading youth brand, MTV EXIT, the world’s largest behaviour change campaign in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation, and one of India’s finest directorial talents, Anurag Kashyap, present “Traffic”, an eye-opening five-episode thriller series. The series is part of a global campaign to educate young people about the growing presence of trafficking in the world, and aims at inspiring them, so they can STOP. THINK. ACT. The first episode of “Traffic” airs on MTV on February 28, 2014.
More than 200,000 persons are believed to be trafficked into, withinor through India annually. According to studies conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there are 3 million commercial sex workers in India, of which an estimated 40% are children. The five episodes of “Traffic” will highlighting varioustypes ofhuman trafficking, such as domestic servitude, forced marriage, being sold into prostitution, enslavement in a foreign land, organ trafficking and bonded labour.
Speaking about this endeavour, AdityaSwamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV India, said,“Traffic is our initiative to raise awareness around human trafficking. It is happening every single day, all around us. Each one of us can make a difference and that’s what we want to communicate with this 5 part series. We are leveraging what we do best, content curation along with our broadcast and digital capability to reach out to people in a voice that will make them listen. MTV EXIT has done exceptional work in this field globally and it’s with these learnings that we begin the India chapter.
Anchored and produced by the multi-talented AnuragKashyap, a 30-minute episode of “Traffic” will air every Friday at 7:00 pm starting February 28, 2014. “Traffic” will follow the journey of five people who were misled into the darkest abyss but emerged victorious by building up the strength to ask for help. With an aim to create awareness of this ever-growing social evil, each story will be narrated in a gripping format taking the viewers on a roller coaster ride of emotions.
Anchor and Producer, “Traffic”, AnuragKashyap said, “Over the last few years, I have wanted to work on a project on human trafficking. So when I was approached by MTV for ‘Traffic’, I was thrilled. Through these films I want to reach out to my fans, especially the youngsters and make them aware of the perils oftrafficking.”
Nirmala Nair, Country Manager – India, MTV EXIT said, “Research shows that an estimated 20.9 million people globally are in forced labour at any given time due to trafficking -- and Asia contributes to 56% of this figure. While the statistics are shocking, very little is being done towards this cause. This is where MTV EXIT steps in. We’re committed to engaging, educating and empowering young people with the information and tools they need to help end human trafficking. Through ‘Traffic’ we will reach out to a huge audience of young people with information on human trafficking, and provide them with clear actions to reduce the demand for trafficking. It’s time to take a stand and act.”
Debra Rosen, Movement Director of Walk Free said, "Education and awareness is the first step to bringing modern slavery to an end. That's why a series like 'Traffic' is so important. It not only teaches you how to protect yourself, but inspires you to share your knowledge so that more people make ending modern slavery a priority." In order to help reach an even larger audience, an anthem for “Traffic”was created by one of the most talented musicians in the country, Hitesh Sonik. Penned by renowned lyricist Piyush Mishra, the anthem is sung by Suraj Jagan.
“Traffic” by MTV and MTV EXIT will be supported by a 360-degree marketing campaign across platforms. In addition to on-air, fans will also be engaged through various social media platforms.
“Traffic” starts February 28, 2014 at 7pm only on MTV
