Mumbai, Dec 20 (IANS): "Navrangi Re!", a new general entertainment fiction series, sets out to impart an underlying behaviour change message on sanitation.

The 26-episode finite series "Navrangi Re!", to be launched in January 2019, has brought together Viacom18, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and BBC Media Action in an industry first effort.

It tells the story of a congested neighbourhood in a town in northern India full of real, but quirky characters essayed by actors like Aamir Ali, Sushmita Mukherjee, Raju Kher and Vaishnavi Dhanraj.

Vishwaas, the hero of the drama series, played by Aamir, is a struggling TV journalist who is not able to deliver 'breaking news' stories and finds his job on the line. But in this hunt for stories, he discovers the gateway to bring about change for his Mohalla, aided by a few others.

Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO and Managing Director, Viacom18, said in a statement: "We believe in the power of partnerships to effect impact at scale. With ‘Navrangi Re!', we are creating a platform that aptly uses the medium of entertainment to bring in mass behaviour change."

"Sanitation has been a cause that we are closely associated with, whether through our sustainability project ‘Chakachak Mumbai' or our film ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha'. We hope to engage our audiences with powerful storytelling and intend to bring forth the importance of faecal sludge management to keep Bharat Swachh."

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded BBC Media Action to create and develop "Navrangi Re!". This is the first time that the Gates Foundation has partnered with a satellite television network in India.

The social impact show, being produced by Swastik Productions, will be aired bi-weekly over 13 weeks on Viacom18 network's Hindi general entertainment channel Rishtey, its regional language channels Colors Gujarati and Colors Odia, as well as on the network's OTT platform Voot.