MARD (Against Rape and Discrimination), a social campaign, has become the talk of the town and is spreading like wildfire on social networking sites. From Bollywood stars, cricketers to the common man, everybody is flaunting a moustache to show the real MARD (man).
Actor-producer-director Farhan Akhtar, who initiated the online campaign, was seen promoting the cause at Indian Premiere League season six (IPL 6).
Farhan started the campaign in March to spread awareness about gender inequality and safety of women in India. "MARD is an initiative asking men to rethink their own value system. To think about what are the various characteristics and traits that blend into each other to make a man," Farhan wrote on his Twitter handle.
The actor promoted the cause at Eden Garderns on Friday during the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) match. He distributed 70,000 moustaches and MARD flyers at the stadium which got audiences curious and interested.
"26th April. Eden Gardens, Kolkata. KKR vs KXI match is in support of the #MARD initiative. Thank you IPL, Sony TV, Preity, SRK and teams," Farhan tweeted on 16 April.
From sports icons to kids, people were seen wearing moustaches and holding MARD flyers at the event. Both the teams captain - Adam Gilchrist of Kings XI Punjab and Gautam Gambhir of Kolkata Knight Riders - were also seen sporting the moustaches.
While, Preity Zinta, the owner of KXIP, was present at the stadium, Shah Rukh Khan, co-owner of KKR, was not able to attend the match due to his hectic shooting scheduled. Farhan later took to his Twitter page to thank IPL, KKR, KXI, Shaan and Sony TV for the support.
"A big thanks to IPL, Sony Tv, KKR, KXI, Shaan & the thousands of people who showed support by wearing moustaches. #MARD," he said.
Check out pictures of Adam Gilchrist, Shaan, Gautam Gambhir, SRK and others with the MARD moustaches here:
