Bangalore, Oct 14 (IANS) Five-year-old Savithri Kumar has vivid memories of her loving parents, both of whom passed away due to HIV-AIDS two years ago.

"Both my parents loved me very much. I was the apple of their eyes. But unfortunately both died, just months apart, two years ago. Doctors say both had HIV-AIDS," Savithri (name changed), who too is HIV positive and currently staying with her grandmother in Bangalore, told IANS.

According to experts working in the field of HIV-AIDS, children like Savithri, who have lost both their parents to HIV-AIDS and are themselves infected by it, are the worst victims of the disease prevalent in the country for the last two decades. Their plight is well brought out in the heart-rendering Kannada documentary "A Generation Challenged".

The film was released by Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa at the inauguration ceremony of Ashodaya Academy, a HIV-AIDS awareness centre said to be the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.

The centre will be located in Mysore, 139 km from here.

The 18-minute film has been produced by Ashodaya Samiti, a Mysore-based organisation working for the welfare and health issues of sex workers in Karnataka and Infact Films, a film production house based in Bangalore.

"Cinema has always been a strong medium to pass on social messages. As a large number of children are becoming orphans with both their parents suffering from AIDS, a huge social problem is building up and it is our responsibility to deal with the issue," said Sushena Reza Paul, adviser to Ashodaya Samiti.

The film looks deeper into the crisis, as to how children of infected couples not only lose their parents but are forced to become homeless.