Phir Zindagi-a film that seeks to sensitise people on organ donation process

Directed by the award winning duo, Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar, the 53-minute film will be screened at MES Balshikshan Sanstha Auditorium, Kothrud, on December 4.

4 min readPuneDec 1, 2015 12:44 AM IST

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The film with a stellar cast has been directed by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar

Call it lack of awareness or reluctance on the part of the family members, in 11 years, only 77 deceased organ donors have come forth in Pune. In a bid to sensitise people on various aspects involving organ donation, a short film, Phir Zindagi, has been made to depict how complicated, time consuming and emotionally draining the process can be.
Directed by the award winning duo, Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukhtankar, the 53-minute film will be screened at MES Balshikshan Sanstha Auditorium, Kothrud, on December 4.

The film has a stellar cast of actors known for their ‘close to the bone’ performances—Naseeruddin and Ratna-Pathak-Shah, Vikram Gokhale, Uttara Baokar, Jyoti Subhash, Amruta Subhash, Neeraj Kabi ( Ship Of Theseus & Talwar fame) and Dr Shekhar Kulkarni. The film sheds light on the process of organ donation, explains the protocol to be followed in order to receive an organ from the deceased patient and the importance of enlisting on the Central Waiting List by the recipients.

Organ donation is enabled once the family members of a brain dead patient are counselled to voluntarily agree to donate organs to patients in need.

Solid organs and tissues like liver, kidney, heart, lung, pancreas, cornea, bones and skin can be donated. Deceased organ donation (possible only after brain stem death), also known as cadaver organ donation, gives hope to many sick patients and a chance to lead a fairly normal life again.

A person may be declared brain dead because of a grievous and irreversible brain stem injury either due to a road accident, a fall, stroke or primary brain tumors. Brain death is declared and confirmed only after a six-hour gap, as per the rules, by the government-approved Brain Death Committees of each hospital, Dr Arati Gokhale, coordinator of Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC) Pune, told The Indian Express .

Statistics show that in the last 11 years, there have been just 77 deceased organ donors. Now, with an aim to generate more awareness, the film, a joint collaboration of ZTCC and Praj Foundation, shows how the doctors, ICU staff and transplant coordinator must communicate clearly, patiently and continuously with the relatives in an appropriate manner to ensure a smooth operation.

It also depicts the pivotal role played by the transplant coordinator and medical social worker in convincing the relatives of the brain dead donor and the police personnel, Dr Gokhale added.

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In Pune, the entire deceased donor transplant protocol is coordinated by the ZTCC and its specially-appointed central coordinator. The ZTCC Pune is a trust formed under the aegis of the Maharashtra Confederation for Organ Transplants (MCFOT) and the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) Maharashtra to oversee the deceased donor transplant activity in the state.

The list based on pre-determined medical criteria is automatically generated and updated every month. It is programmed to ascribe priority points to the wait-listed patients. This ensures a fair and transparent allocation of precious organs and distribution of the most suitable deceased organ to the most-suitable wait-listed recipient.

Meanwhile, as many as 10 donor families were felicitated by ZTCC at a function held at Poona hospital on Sunday, as part of the National Organ Transplant Day, which was marked on November 27.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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