Charitable celebrities: meet the stars who give back

Gulf News

From Hollywood to Bollywood, philanthropic celebrities explain why and how they put their fame and fortune to good use

Transcript

00:00I think that's the point is get involved I don't think a lot of people are

00:06involved in their communities much less in world on the on a world stage and I

00:11think sometimes people view philanthropy or charity or the world's issues

00:17overwhelming like AIDS in Africa you know sex trafficking in Thailand you go

00:23that is such a big issue how could I ever help the environment you know and

00:28the truth is you can you can make a difference you can help by helping one

00:33person you know your neighbor somebody in your family somebody in your

00:36community and from there you know passion grows and compassion grows and

00:42so I always tell people you know look to your left and look to your right and you

00:48will see somebody in need my mom told me always that you have to be compassionate

00:53about everybody around you and to put yourself in the shoes of other people

00:59and I remember my mom just putting some more water in the lentil soup so you

01:05know the community they didn't have all our neighbors they didn't have anything

01:09to eat especially they all be older people will come on my mom you know we

01:15serve food every day and that show me the compassion that you have to give

01:21back to be able to have a good karma and be a good person the only way

01:25forward is for each of us to be the change we want to see Mahatma Gandhi's

01:33words I think with what is happening now in the world as I said there's all this

01:41ugliness but at the same time there are good things happening like even tonight

01:47for example I think if social media the press entertainment education and people

01:58come together then it's possible to create a critical mass for a more

02:06peaceful just sustainable healthier joyful world with experience I've seen

02:12and I have experienced people from our milieu not just Hollywood but also the

02:20Indian film industry always comes together for you know good causes and I

02:25feel very proud to be an actor to be able to play catalyst in you know

02:31leveraging my name to good causes so every opportunity is is a great one I

02:36was doing some TV work and I think that I had it was around the time where I

02:41started to portrayed Malcolm X when Terrence Howard portrayed Muhammad Ali

02:45and I started to learn more about about my past history being a person of color

02:55in the United States it led me on a different path I was very very vocal and

03:00outspoken on the on the sets because I thought a disproportionate number of

03:05people of color were involved in movie making process so I was very vocal about

03:10that that led me to Harry Belafonte's organization and the incarceration

03:16that's going on in the United States I started to be part of the Sankofa

03:20organization's award ceremonies where they would give back to people in the

03:24community that we used to be gang members or people that used to be

03:27incarcerated that went and gave back to the community and people in law

03:33enforcement that also were looking towards changing the community in a

03:37positive way I think it was one of my first times I work in a very tiny

03:41village called a Mijwai in Azamgarh UP it was founded by my father the noted

03:47poet Kaifi Azmi with a focus on the girl child and women because he believed that

03:56if India's to make real progress she has to turn towards the villages where 80%

04:02of the population lives and after he passed away I have taken on the reins of

04:06the Mijwai Welfare Society and I've been working actively with empowerment of

04:10women and I've seen how when women have access to education and to help and some

04:16means of earning a livelihood they are able to negotiate more space for

04:22themselves within the family structure within the community within the state

04:26even

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