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Getting a movie made, even in prolific Bollywood isn't an easy job, even for a male insider. How much harder, then, for a female outsider, particularly if she's a public health worker in the south Asian communities of Birmingham, England. And harder, still, when the film in question addresses the dangers of HIV and Aids — a subject never before explored by the Indian film industry, and barely even whispered about in south Asian communities.

Enter Karamjeet Ballagan, 41, a Birmingham-born social worker and mother of six. The drama Ek Pal (One Moment) has become a screen reality after four years of sheer belief and determination on her part. She was convinced that a Bollywood film — steeped in melodrama and morality — would be an effective, culturally appropriate vehicle for encouraging dialogue on sexual health. Believing it would also save lives, "not only here in Britain, but around the world," she argued her case with passion, drawing on-side both wary health officials and enthusiastic arts community members in Birmingham, then a keen director and a concerned group of actors in Bombay. And, critically, the finished product was enthusiastically applauded by 30 south Asian community and religious leaders when they attended the film's premiere in Birmingham in August.

"If you've got a budget, it's easy enough to have a film made," maintains Ballagan, who had pried some $30,000 out of her local National Health Service trust. "It's another story whether you get what you want out of them. It's difficult to know who to trust. My biggest anxiety was that somebody would just take the money from me and I wouldn't have a film in the end."

Getting the right director was key, and for Ballagan and her arts contacts, that turned out to be producer-director Gautam Verma. He was located in a search — through Bollywood business directories — for a director who understood the issues involved and was willing to take on a controversial subject.

As HIV and sexual health coordinator in the heart of Britain's second city, Ballagan faces a particularly challenging task, given the cultural and religious sensitivities of the Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi residents who make up about 14% of the northern city's 1 million population. The same sensitivities apply in the subcontinent itself, where HIV infection rates are climbing.

"People just didn't want to talk about sex," says Ballagan. "I wanted them to face reality." When she began talking about HIV infection — the rate of which is still statistically small among Britain's Asians — "the community didn't feel it could respond," she says. "The leaders felt I was imposing Western values, encouraging young people to become involved in sex, and that any kind of normal Asian woman wouldn't be doing this kind of work." And, she noted, HIV and Aids victims — given the infection's links with sex and drug use — are often viewed with little compassion.

"Karamjeet is not someone you say no to," says Rod Dungate, a Birmingham-based poet and playwright who developed Ballagan's story outline while she sought to bring community and religious leaders — whose support would be critical — on board. In the intricate story, Sanjay — a respectable, married businessman who also has a mistress, Komal — contracts the HIV virus during a casual sexual encounter. He learns of his infection after breaking up with Komal. Full of guilt and shame, he deserts his family — and doesn't tell Komal, who is carrying his child. She later overhears a teacher-friend of Sanjay's tell her father — a community leader — what has transpired. Enraged, the leader condemns Sanjay for loose living, while Komal — ashamed and believing that she and her child may have the infection — kills herself.

Given the plot, Ballagan says, some actors were nervous. "You could see a bit of fear on their faces," she says. "Some were wondering, "How are we going to become big stars if we ruin our reputations at this stage?" But with all the attention, they realized they were going to become bigger stars."

Verma introduced the actors — television soap-opera performers such as Rajesh Sabarwal, Kirti Sharma and Ashok Bartia — to Ballagan "and we jointly selected them after explaining the project carefully," she says. "I wanted to make sure they'd make the commitment." Ballagan does not believe the Bollywood élite would have taken on the subject matter alone. "It is still seen as a problem of the poor, the prostitutes." But she says, wealthy filmmakers "have a responsibility, too, to put something back into the community."

Ballagan herself is keen to continue both community health work and filmmaking, focusing on such topics as congenital difficulties resulting from close-cousin marriages. "The other issue close to my heart is disabilities," she says. "I'd like to help remove some of the negative attitudes." Disabilities weigh heavily on Ballagan, whose "very supportive" husband of 23 years, Jascir Singh Ballagan, runs a Birmingham supermarket. Of their six children — five girls and a boy, ranging in age from 18 to three — one is afflicated with cerebral palsy and one has learning difficulties.

Says Ballagan, who has distant roots in the Punjab: "Coming from an Asian background, I know that you have to teach children what's right and what's wrong — and that it's important to respect their bodies and themselves. You have to determine at what age they understand these issues, but it is absolutely crucial. And the oldest ones know the work in which I'm involved."

Ek Pal — in Hindi, with English subtitles — features the music of Indian singing star Kumar Sanu. It was also filmed in Bengali (with a second cast) and will be dubbed in other languages as finances permit. The movie, says Ballagan, is initially being shown in South Asian communities in Britain in late October and early November, then "early next year in Asia." Negotiations are under way for wider distribution.

Despite the tragedies stemming from "one moment" of regret, the tale does end on a high moral note, encompassing lessons about pride, ignorance, prejudice, compassion and reconciliation. For both Ballagan and the health authority in Birmingham, there are no regrets over spending $30,000 to have a movie made in Bombay. "It's better than millions of leaflets that aren't read," says Ballagan — and it cost less than treating just one HIV victim in Britain for a year.

• MARYANN BIRD/London
• AIDS drama comes to Bollywood