Swachh Year-Ender 2017: Bollywood Celebrities Who Supported India’s Biggest Cleanliness Drive – The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

New Delhi: ‘Cleanliness is not the responsibility of only sanitation personnel and government employees, it is the duty of each and every individual of the city.’ With this as their mantra, B-town came together to do their bit for India’s biggest cleanliness movement which has gained world-wide attention. From picking up the broom to cleaning-up different spots in the country to helping the less fortunate people build toilets at home, and to acting in swachh-themed based movies in order to educate the masses on how to make India clean, Bollywood celebrities did everything to promote the concept of Swachh Bharat Mission.

Here is the list of celebrities who made a ‘Swachh Difference’ in the year 2017:

One Man Army For Swachh India – Amitabh Bachchan

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’s Campaign Ambassador – Amitabh bachchan

Big B has been the face of the campaign from the moment Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ in 2014. Since then, he has been educating people on three crucial things for a swachh India – build toilets at home to end open defecation in the country, beat plastic pollution and save the oceans and segregate waste at source.

Every now and then, Big B shows his support through public service announcements (PSA) in the form of videos/radio jingles etc or pick up a broom himself and start cleaning dirty spots of the city in order to make people aware on why it is important to keep their surroundings clean.

Mr Bachchan has also been associated with NDTV-Banega Swachh India campaign from last four seasons and every year he supports the cause of Swachhta by being the part of 12-hour televised cleanathon. This year, during the cleanathon, Mr Bachchan highlighted the problem of lack of toilets, plastic pollution, unclean rivers and toxic air and asked people to pledge together a fight towards a Swachh India by keeping 10-yards of their surroundings clean.

Apart from this, Mr Bachchan also lent his support to beach warrior Afroz Shah, the man behind world’s biggest beach clean-up – Versova. He got personally involved in the Versova clean-up drive with Afroz Shah and his volunteers and helped remove the litter from the beach. He also gifted the team an excavator and a tractor to ease the process of removing waste stuck inside the sands and fasten the clean-up process.

Also Read: President Ram Nath Kovind Hails Amitabh Bachchan For His Role Towards Making India Open Defecation Free

A Swachh Leader You Should Follow – Dia Mirza

Dia Mirza, an avid supporter of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

Actor Dia Mirza from time to time has shown her support for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – from cleaning up Juhu beach during Ganesh Visarjan to launching ‘Waste Management On Wheels’ initiative in Mumbai, making her society zero-waste, voicing her support for a cracker free Diwali in a bid to tackle Air Pollution, Dia has done various things towards making India clean.

The actor is also known for leading a plastic-free lifestyle, recently in an interview with a leading news agency IANS, Dia said that she’s using the toothbrush that is not made of plastic but a bamboo one. She has also stopped using non-biodegradable sanitary napkins and switched to eco-friendly alternatives. And she believes in refilling bottles for quenching her thirst, even in plush hotels. She adds,

The basic things which you can do in your life can go a big distance.

Also Read: Unbelievable How A Toilet Can Change Lives: Actress Dia Mirza Backs Swachh Bharat Mission

A Swachh Motivator – Juhi Chawla

Juhi Chawla, one who is always motivating us to ditch plastic from our lives

Actor Juhi Chawla has long been an advocate of denouncing plastic, she has been educating people on the ill-effects of using plastic products and motivating them to switch to eco-friendly alternatives.

She has urged people not to use plastic bags and instead go for jute or cotton bags. The actor also expressed her happiness over the Maharashtra government’s decision on banning plastic completely.

On Christmas this year, the actor took over social media and asked her fans to be environment’s Secret Santa and ditch the plastic wrapping papers and instead go for eco- friendly products.

A Man Who Showed How To Clean-up Your Mess – Anupam Kher

Want to know how to keep just 10 yards of your surrounding clean? Learn it from Anupam Kher

Actor Anupam Kher took over social media this year to demonstrate how one can fulfill the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Clean India mission by 2019. The actor posted series of videos on his Twitter handle, to tell people what actually #Mere10Guz concept means – see the garbage, think of taking an action, start cleaning and how by adopting this concept they can change the cleanliness quotient of the country.

Mr Kher wanted to remind people that it is equally important to keep our roads clean just like we keep our homes and shops clean. During NDTV’s 12-Hour Banega Swachh India cleanathon, the actor said,

Nobody knew that India will get freedom on August 15, but we got it, still, our children who were born much after the independence are aware about the history, why, because there is lot of awareness. Similarly, our country will get freedom from garbage, but, awareness is crucial. And that’s what I wanted to highlight through my actions.

Watch: Anupam Kher Urges People To Participate In #Mere10Guz

Our Very Own ‘Toilet-Man’ And ‘Padman’ – Akshay Kumar

Meet Akshay Kumar, man who fought against India’s evil-practice – Open Defecation

Akshay Kumar decided to make 2017 – a year dedicated to Swachh Cause. First through his film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, which released in August this year and surpassed Rs. 80 crore at the box office since its release, the actor showed his support to fight the age-old problem of open defecation in India. Then through Padman, a biopic of Arunachalam Muruganantham, the man who is known for developing low-cost and eco-friendly sanitary napkins, Akshay is now promoting the concept of menstrual hygiene and menstrual waste management. The film is scheduled to hit the big screen on January 26 (Republic Day).

Also Read: Won’t Stop Talking About Open Defecation, Says Akshay Kumar, Post The Success Of His Film Toilet – Ek Prem Katha

A Woman Who Shattered The Concept Of ‘Lota-Gang’ – Bhumi Pednekar

Bhumi Pednekar who encouraged women not to settle for anything less in their marriage

With ‘a toilet is a necessity, it is everyone’s birthright to have one,’ as her mantra, actor Bhumi Pednekar educated each and every woman of India about the Swachhta mission. The actor aimed at starting a ‘Toilet-Revolution’ in India through her Swachh Bharat Abhiyan inspired movie Toilet – Ek Prem Katha and now she is the face of ‘anti-lota gang’ in the country. Bhumi Pednekar’s agenda was to bring a behavioral change towards open defecation and encourage a lot of women not to settle for anything less in their marriage and to fight for their rights. Now, the actor hopes to continue her efforts in educating people about India’s biggest moment – the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

Also Read: Bhumi Pednekar Lauds Kanpur’s Anti-Lota Party, Urges People To Make The District Open Defecation Free By End Of This Year

A Woman Who Stood Up For The Cause Of Menstrual Hygiene – Twinkle Khanna

Twinkle Khanna aims to educate each and every woman of India about menstrual hygiene

Mrs. Funnybones through her recent venture – Padman, the film which she is co-producing, aims to empower women of India by educating them about menstrual hygiene and shatter all the taboos related to the word menstruation by starting a conversation about the particular subject.

She is also voicing her support against a whopping 12 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on sanitary napkins and urging the government to rethink their decision on the same.

Actor Who Gave Romeo-Juliet A Swachh Twist – Alia Bhatt

Alia Bhatt is teaching Swachh Bharat Abhiyan lessons with a touch of creativity

Alia Bhatt is promoting the concept of ‘Say No To Littering’ in her own Bollywood andaaz. Through series of short clips which is also the part of the clean India initiative, Alia Bhatt first played a role of Juliet and then an astronaut in order to guide people with the simple message– Badlega scene, jab duniya hogi clean! (The scene will change when the world around us will be clean).

The actor promoted the same concept for Swachh India during the NDTV’s Banega Swachh India 12-Hour cleanathon, she said,

Awareness is the only way through which one realises what needs to be done for a cleaner India.

Watch: Awareness Is The Only Way With Which We Can Make India Clean: Alia Bhatt

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’s Romeo – Varun Dhawan

Varun Dhawan who is promoting the mantra of ‘Badlega scene, jab duniya hogi clean!’

Supporting Alia Bhatt in her videos is Actor Varun Dhawan. The 30-year-old, Varun Dhawan, is seen playing the role of Romeo in the first short clip and an Astronaut in the second. Both clips drive home the same message for a Swachh India – ‘Stop Littering and Save The World’.

Apart from littering, Varun Dhawan also voiced his concern over Delhi’s air pollution and urged people to do their bit in order to change the dark reality by opting for greener and healthier alternatives.

Mumbai’s Bhai Gives A Lesson On Open Defecation – Salman Khan

Mumbai’s very own Bhai is on a mission to eradicate open defecation from the country completely

Megastar Salman Khan, who is also the face of Mumbai’s Open Defecation Free campaign, did his bit by handing over public utility toilets to the villagers of the city in this year and educated them about the menace of open defecation. He also donated 5 mobile toilets each with six seats to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

From Mr India To Safai Karamchari – Anil Kapoor

Man who promoted the concept of ‘keep our homes clean’ – Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor touched everyone’s heart by promoting the concept of ‘keeping our homes clean’ in a unique way. He went back to Chembur in Mumbai and organised a cleanliness drive in order to spread the message of Swachh India. The actor chose this location for a simple reason that this is the place where he has grown up and it is very close to his heart. Mr Kapoor through a short film about sanitation worker also urged his fans to give cleanliness soldiers the respect they deserve and help them out in keeping India clean.