It was a time for the stars to descend in Hyderabad to converge for a campaign against AIDS, spearheaded by Hollywood star Richard Gere [Images].

Titled A Time for Heroes, the campaign was kicked off in Mumbai in 2002 with Gere, Parmeshwar Godrej [Get Quote] and film personalities in attendance.

A Time for Heroes was held in Hyderabad on Saturday to initiate a movement to spread awareness about the killer virus.

Experts say Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are high on the HIV/AIDS risk list.

Andhra Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and actors Kamal Haasan [Images], Chiranjeevi [Images], Mohan Babu, Nagarjuna [Images] and Amala, Venkatesh, Revathy, Vikram, Madhavan [Images], Radhika, Sarath Kumar, Sumalatha, Dr Rajasekhar and Jeevitha Jayaram, Navya Nair, Sada, Shriya, Tarun, Vishnuvardhan Babu, Ramya, Sangeeta, Devisri Prasad, R P Pattnaik and tennis star Sania Mirza [Images] were present at Indoor Stadium at Gachhibowli, Hyderabad, for the event.

Gere motivated stars and the people to fight AIDS in a systematic way. He emphasised that 'all creative people should come together. I am happy that you [the film fraternity] are leading the community.'  Mohan Babu presented Gere a shawl from the Tirupati Temple.

Following the speeches, HIV/AIDS victims performed at the event. The children presented a dance number and a young boy called Siddharth played the drums in tandem with bols (vocal rhythm patterns) by Kamal Hassan [Images] and Jayaram.

Actors like Shriya, Sada and Tarun also performed at the do.

The four-hour show ended with a moving song, We are one, composed by noted music director Ilayaraja. It was sung in Tamil and English by the stars, including Gere.

At the end, actor Nagarjuna's words echoed in people's ears: "Remember what you have learnt today. Take home this and not the stars and the music and dance."

In the picture: Richard Gere with Mohan Babu and his sons Vishnu and Manoj

Text: Radhika Rajamani in Hyderabad | Photograph: Snapsindia