PMK president Anbumani on Friday felicitated the makers of the Marathi film, Asha, directed by Deepak Patil and produced by Daivata Patil, which portrays the life of an Accredited Social Health Activist and how her work transforms her community.
Dr. Anbumani recalled how, when he was the Union Health Minister (2004-09) ASHA workers were recruited as a part of the National Rural Health Mission (now, National health Mission), to provide affordable and accessible health care to rural India.
“When I took charge as a Union Minister, there were 300 maternal deaths per 1 lakh deliveries. But today, there are 80 deaths per 1 lakh deliveries. The health schemes we created are the reason for this. When I became a minister, the child mortality rate was 68 deaths per 1,000 children. Today, it is 35 per 1,000 children. It has reduced by half. These are major achievements,” he said and added that the scheme is not being implemented properly in Tamil Nadu for political reasons despite there being 10.7 lakh ASHA workers across India.
He also recalled how his ministry was instrumental in banning smoking in public areas and his effort to include statutory warnings in movies whenever smoking or consumption of alcohol is shown on screen.
Dr. Anbumani said the film was an emotional experience for him and that this would serve as a “big lesson” for those who prefer male children instead of female children.
“I will meet Prime Minister Modi and bring this film “Asha” to his attention,” he said.
Published – February 28, 2026 02:13 am IST
