Chhoti si Asha, bada sa dil

The ‘Chhoti Si Asha’ initiative has truly been the most wonderful way to end a great year of Rotary Service!

The initiative, jointly created by Rotary India, Rotary Club of Bombay and Wizcraft International Entertainment and supported by Being Human.- The Salman Khan Foundation and partnered by Ask Nestle.in and Finolex Pipes, was a globally televised fundraiser held on Colours TV on Sunday 28, June, 2020.

Chhoti Si Asha was our initiative to especially focus on the holistic development of children… a way to protect and care for the future of underprivileged children through a fund raising effort that involved the most creative and passionate performers in Indian cinema.

The virtual fundraiser for ‘children in need’ was a three-hour programme promoted on various media platforms and streamed Live.

Fans and ardent lovers of entertainment gathered around their TV sets to watch Indian cinema stars in a perfectly curated, adequately socially distanced series of choreographed sequences, shot in multiple locations and seamlessly sown together with the beautiful script and splendid presentation by Bollywood celebrity Salman Khan.

In the run up to the event, a plethora of stars and influencers took to social media and requested the nation to join in for the entertainment, as well as to help and raise funds for the event. Fans heard from Anil Kapoor, Hritik Roshan, Katrina Kaif and many more, reminding them to watch whole heartedly and to donate generously to our cause. While introducing the event, Hritik Roshan asked the nation to step up and make the future of the under privileged children of India better.

Amitabh Bachchan recited a poem penned by Kausar Munir and stars like Radhika Apte, RJ Malishka, Pooja Hegde and other renowned celebrities narrated the real stories of Rotary’s initiatives that have impacted lakhs of disadvantaged children & families over the years. A. R. Rahman’s never-seen-before performance was a revelation to viewers, while Madhuri Dixit regaled us with a song.

The event was also marked by some of the best past performances by Arijit Singh, Neha Kakkar, Amit Trivedi, Pritam Chakraborty, Shankar Mahadevan, Salim Sulaiman, Neeti Mohan, Jonita Gandhi, B Praak, Benny Dayal, Bhoomi Trivedi and many more. Throughout the programme, vignettes of the work done by Rotary India and the Rotary Club of Bombay filled the homes and hearts of viewers, enlightening them about the plight of the underprivileged children of India and how they could help raise the standard of living through donations.

Speaking about the Sunday event, President, RCB, Rtn. Preeti Mehta said, “’Chhoti si Asha means a small hope but truly is a ‘Vishaal Kadam’ (A Giant Step) consistent with the Rotary Club of Bombay’s efforts over the last 10 years to remove the tag of ‘underprivileged’ from all our poor young and that is our privilege. We are touched and humbled by the number of people and celebrities who came together to support our efforts for giving our children a better future.”

Our deepest gratitude to Sabbas Joseph, Triveni Makhijani and the entire Wizcraft Team for their support and immense hard work for a show “par excellence”.

The Chhoti Si Asha Initiative will continue to accept donations for the cause through the month of July. Anyone interested to know more about the work that gets done through this funding, can visit the social media pages .Look out for Chhoti Si Asha Concert screening on Facebook soon.