Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Shatrughan Sinha `happy, but not excited'

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM July 25. One of the challenges before the popular Hindi film actor, Shatrughan Sinha, now in his new role as the Union Minister for Health and Family Affairs, is how to fight the fad for smoking he himself had unwittingly promoted in a generation of youngsters some 25 years back.

``During the shootings, I never needed a second take to do the trick of flicking a cigarette with my fingers and catching it smartly between my lips. Several friends have told me my mannerisms with the lighted cigarette had sparked the love for smoking among them. I now know that smoking is one of the biggest health problems in the country,'' Mr. Sinha said at a `Meet-the-Press' programme organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club today.

He said he was "happy, but not excited'' with his appointment as a Union Minister. `Happy', because his contribution to the BJP, for which he had started campaigning at a time when it was hardly discernible on the political map of the country, had at last been recognised. `Not excited', because he knows that the challenges are truly daunting.

He said that as a Minister fresh on the job (he took oath as the Minister only on July 1, this year), he found the threat of AIDS as one of the most serious health issues confronting the nation. He was staggered by the realisation that India now had the second largest number of HIV positive cases in the world after South Africa.

India also had the largest number of leprosy and tuberculosis patients in the world. In human development index, the country occupied the 124th position among 173 countries in the world.

Mr. Sinha's schedule in the city includes the stage presentation `Pathi, Pathni our Mein', in which he is playing the lead role. ``I have acted in more than 250 movies, but never in a drama. Acting on the stage has been a different experience altogether. This drama has been staged in most other States before I took over as a Minister. The original plan was to stage it in all the States from Kerala in the south to Kashmir in the north. I have taken special leave from the Prime Minister to complete the round,'' Mr. Sinha said.

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