Building national TV drama Navrangi Re!
Coordination and formative research on a WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) drama produced by BBC Media Action in partnership with Viacom18 and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hosted by Anil Kapoor.
The brief
Navrangi Re! was an entertainment-education series designed to shift public knowledge and attitudes around faecal sludge management (FSM) and broader WASH behaviours, told through prime-time mainstream Indian television. The communications challenge: how do you embed accurate, behaviour-change-oriented messaging inside a drama that has to compete on entertainment terms?
What I did
Led formative research and pilot testing on FSM knowledge and perceptions to inform script development and outreach planning. Evaluated technical and financial proposals from agencies, and coordinated agency and stakeholder deliverables across BBC Media Action, Viacom18, and the Gates Foundation. The work sat at the intersection of social-impact research and prime-time TV production — rare territory.
Outcome
The series aired on Colors as part of a multi-platform behaviour-change programme, reaching mainstream audiences with WASH messaging through dramatic narrative rather than public-service announcement. The research methods I helped design fed into future BBC Media Action programmes.
How do you embed accurate, behaviour-change messaging inside a drama that has to compete on entertainment terms?From the brief · Navrangi Re! formative research