Mumbai: The Tata Trusts have launched ‘Vajood Rahe Maujood’, a new awareness campaign on dementia, seeking to shift the public conversation around the condition from memory loss to the gradual erosion of a person’s identity.
Launched during World Alzheimer’s Month, the campaign is based on insights from people living with early-stage dementia, caregivers and medical experts. Through a short film, the initiative aims to encourage families to recognise early changes, initiate conversations sooner and take steps to preserve the identity and independence of loved ones for as long as possible.
The campaign seeks to challenge the tendency in India to dismiss early signs of dementia as a consequence of ageing or ordinary forgetfulness. Phrases such as ‘Budhapa aa gaya!’ (Old age is here!) and ‘Bhulne ki bimari (the disease of forgetting)’ can lead to early symptoms being overlooked, the Tata Trusts said.
The campaign instead focuses on an often less visible consequence of dementia—the gradual loss of the roles, relationships and everyday abilities that contribute to an individual’s sense of identity.
India’s rapidly ageing population is also expected to increase the importance of dementia as a public-health issue. The country is projected to have more than 347 million people aged 60 and above by 2050, according to the campaign.
“Of the various barriers that Dementia faces in India, the biggest is a lack of awareness – the misestimation, the misattribution, the dismissal. Addressing patients exhibiting mild symptoms was therefore a conscious choice of audience for nudging behavior change. And when “loss of identity” and its various dimensions across the stages of the disease, were uncovered as an insight, we knew we had something powerful to work with, that would lead to captivating communication that was persuasive and not preachy. Communication that was not just empathetic but also encouraged action, so caregivers and their loved ones could have an improved quality of life. We’re hopeful that the campaign will be able to move the needle on dementia from ignorance to awareness”, said Shilpi Ghosh, Head, Brand & Marketing Communications, Tata Trusts.
The campaign was developed following qualitative research into the impact of dementia on patients, caregivers, families and the wider healthcare ecosystem. The research also highlighted the lack of accessible regional-language vocabulary around dementia and its early-stage symptoms, which can make the condition harder to identify and discuss.
“Our qualitative research showed us that dementia cannot be addressed as a health issue alone. Its impact ripples through caregivers, families, the healthcare ecosystem, and even the economy. We capture this interconnected impact through what we describe as ‘The Butterfly Effect’, highlighting why dementia requires a concerted response across the ecosystem. An interesting insight that emerged from our interactions was the absence of regional-language vocabulary to describe the diseases and its early changes. This makes the disease easier for people to dismiss. Because you cannot ask people to recognise what they do not have the language to describe. The campaign thus, offers a common ground that hopefully makes the condition easier to decipher, talk about and act on, in homes and communities, not just in clinics.”, reflected Kalyan Challapalli, Founder & Chief of Strategy, Wolfzhowl, the agency that developed the strategic communications for the campaign.
The campaign’s central film uses a family relationship to portray the less visible changes associated with dementia. The film features Geeta Agarwal Sharma, known for Laapataa Ladies and 12th Fail, as a mother showing early signs of dementia, and Priyanshu Painyuli, known for Mirzapur and Extraction, as her son and primary caregiver.
The creative team chose a short-film format rather than a conventional public-service announcement to give viewers more time to observe the gradual changes in the relationship between the characters.
Keigan Pinto, Creative Chief, Writer and Director, said, “The creative challenge was to make something as invisible as identity loss felt without reducing dementia to a list of symptoms. That is why we chose to make this a short film rather than a conventional public service announcement. We wanted to give the audience enough time to inhabit an everyday relationship and notice the small shifts that can otherwise be overlooked. The poem which the son wrote for his mother on her birthday is a creative device used to carry the message of care as the greatest gift. Through the poem, the son has a difficult conversation with his mother, while empathising with her. Vajood Rahe Maujood, the tagline sums up the vision of this campaign, to encourage more people to act towards preserving their identity for as long as possible.”
The campaign also deliberately places a son in the role of primary caregiver. According to the Tata Trusts, the choice reflects the disproportionate impact of dementia on women while also seeking to encourage greater participation by men in caregiving and family conversations around the condition.
The Trusts said early intervention remains important given that an estimated 45% of dementia cases could potentially be prevented or delayed. Changes associated with dementia can also begin 10–20 years before symptoms become apparent, underscoring the importance of awareness, screening and early diagnosis.
Through ‘Vajood Rahe Maujood’, the Tata Trusts aim to encourage families to identify subtle changes earlier and initiate conversations around dementia before the condition has a more significant impact on an individual’s identity and quality of life.
