The Third Eye, a program run by a partnership between Asian Centre for Entertainment Education (ACEE) and Hollywood Health & Society (HH&S), USC, Annenberg, is empowering the creative leaderships of the media and entertainment industries of India with accurate information on key health, legal, gender and social issues through expert advice, tracking change and measuring impact of content across all traditional and new media platforms.

ACEE The Third Eye launched SUPERNOVA, a series of interactive sessions between creative communities in the world of films, television and advertising and a panel of experts, through interactive sessions in January 2014. Through this platform, each month, a contemporary and pertinent issue is taken up for debate and discussion.

The first edition of SUPERNOVA, presented Garry Lyons, Professor for Script Writing at the University of Leeds, UK, who interacted with creative leaders on Writing for Society in January 2014. The second edition held in February 2014 dealt with the topic of Maternal and Child Health and its many aspects where the panellists were Dr. Nikhil Datar, Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi and Ad Filmmaker Anuradha Tandon.

In its third edition SUPERNOVA showcased the Portrayal of Health, Young Mothers and Parenting in the world of films, television and Media, at 3 pm on April 16th, 2014.

“It is our endeavour to bring writers in touch with experts who can share their in depth understanding of complex issues that affect urban and rural livelihoods today. When the two diverse and distant worlds collide; a certain chemistry between the thought leaders and the experts compels content creators to approach issues with greater sensitivity; at such times when they are narrating stories”, said Vinta Nanda, MD, ACEE and Director, The Third Eye.

Hans Kapadia, Head, Business Development, introduced ACEE The Third Eye, its work and elaborated on the services offered to writers and other creative communities.

The panel was moderated by Vinta Nanda and Deepa Bhalerao, Program Outreach Manager, ACEE The Third Eye, both of whom also introduced the three distinguished panel members for the day’s session.

Deeya Singh, Director and Producer of several popular serials on television, said, “Parenting as a genre is not a TRP earner. To take up parenting as an issue for television serials is a decision that requires deliberation.”

She went on to say, “We have always chosen to focus on the day to day issues between parents and children in our programs. Children spring surprises all the time and parents are constantly learning from their interaction with the children.”

On the receptivity of the audience she said, “The audience does not want preaching. They want entertainment.” And, for the tone of the presentation,

“When I say something loudly, I have problems.”

To the reactions from audiences, she said, “They appreciate a real story of a real family, and respond wholeheartedly when they find a reflection of their own lives in the program.”

About content, she said, “When we lose humour, we lose balance. Anything conveyed in a lighter vein is taken very well. The SITCOM format is most appealing. If we introduce a one-dimensional plot or shock element, that makes it lose the flavour.”

Dr Lata Shenava spoke on the way media has taken hold of the time and the imagination of the younger populations. She said, “There cannot be a one-way blame put on parents as they are also trying to cope with the changed scenario of evolving family structures, and the breakdown of earlier support systems.”

Of children she said, “The children in the society are coping with pressures that the earlier generations did not have to deal with. They are sleep deprived and have lesser resilience than their previous generations had.”

Of mothers, she said, “Mothers are multitasking and are always fatigued. They have a difficult task as they are almost always, the primary and pivotal caregivers.”

She quoted the Angus Madison Report and book ‘The Beautiful Tree’ as guiding lights for better understanding of the vast and confusing landscape of parenting. She also lauded the contemporary television serials for giving strong gender sensitive messages.

Dr Armida Fernandez spoke on the Nature and Nurture aspects of growing up. She said, “Discipline, Values and Health are three pillars of a good nurturing relationship. Earlier, the extended family provided the nurturing, whereas today, the impact of what the child watches on several media is far more than what anyone can provide.”

On responsible media, she opined, “Nurturing is a collective responsibility of the society and writers and content creators are also important actors in the upbringing of children today.”

Dr Fernandez also urged the need for messages that could be given through the various media on the importance of preventing early marriage of girls, the need to delay pregnancy till the age of 21 years for a woman, the reasons and therefore the need for birth-spacing, the utility of various contraceptive methods, the importance of breastfeeding a baby exclusively for the first six months, and the value of colostrums for the infant.

An interactive session followed which was led by Shiv Bhalla, Creative Director, and Pratik Punjabi, Content Strategy at The Third Eye, both of whom tested a story idea each upon the three panellists and got reactions from all of them; which was then followed by discussions on actual situations faced by writers while writing on issues of parenting and health.

The audience shared opinions and discussed the real-life scenarios faced by them while creating relevant content for a show or a film.

The discussion was well attended by film makers Veena Bakshi, and Barnali Ray Shukla, Writers B.M Vyas, and Trupti Kappu Sharma, Lawyer and Writer Simran Puri, Journalist and Film Critic, Niharika Puri and over 30 distinguished filmmakers and writers.