Odisha Banks On ‘Chellam Sir’ To Push Vaccine Message

Bhubaneswar: The state Health Department has joined the meme bandwagon on popular web series ‘The Family Man’ to boost awareness about COVID-19 vaccination.

‘The Family Man’ is an action thriller that follows the exploits of a terror investigating agency official, Srikant Tiwari (played by Manoj Bajpayee), who balances his high-risk job with responsibilities at home.

“When it comes to your protection from COVID-19 infection, ‘don’t be a minimum guy’,” the department tweeted on Friday.

‘Don’t be a minimum guy’ is a dialogue frequently uttered by Chellam Sir, the boss of the company where Bajpayee’s character worked briefly, in the series.

The department also stressed that one should take the vaccine even if he or she follows all COVID-19 protocols.

“Chellam Sir, I wear facemask and sanitise my hands frequently. Do I need to get COVID-19 vaccine?” Bajpayee’s character asks over the phone in a collage of two photos.

“Yes Srikant. Take both doses of COVID-19 vaccine within the recommended gap to stay safe from COVID-19,” responds Chellam Sir (played by Udayabhanu Maheshwaran in the series).

Chellam Sir is a retired spy who gives a breakthrough to Srikant every time he hits a roadblock in his mission in the Amazon Prime Video series.

The character is now a national rage and the subject of several viral memes.

As of June 24, Odisha has inoculated 1.09 crore people. Of these, 19.26 lakh people have taken both the doses, according to the Union Health Ministry data.