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Munnabhai lends his voice to a cause

Munnabhai and his beloved radio jockey Jhanvi (Vidya Balan) have lent their voices to a series of soon-to-be-released audio books known as 'Will You Read With Me'.

The project is being supported by the Unicef and the Union HRD Ministry in an effort to reach out to at least five million children in the country. The series of 16 bilingual audio books in English and Hindi explore little-known folk tales from different regions in India. They also weave in social issues such as disability and environmental awareness in an interesting manner.

The actors who play themselves, speak directly to children.

Dutt, who finished recording for the series a few months ago, tells them how, while shooting for a film in Matheran, a few monkeys stole his cap. This reminded him of a story about monkeys that his father had told him as a child, he said. "Do you want to know about the story? Will you read with me?" Dutt asks before narrating the story. In addition to Dutt and Balan, the series, launched by IIT alumnus Narayan Parasuram's Karadi Tales Company, will also involve Konkona Sen Sharma, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. "While most Bollywood actors use their stardom to promote commercial products, 'Will You Read With Me' uses their immense talent and iconic status to make reading 'cool' for children," says Parasuram.