Proud Fathers For Daughters Campaign Connects Family Portraits with Girls’ Empowerment
Between November 28 and December 14, 2025, something meaningful unfolded across Mumbai. Father-daughter duos arrived for professional photoshoots, but left having contributed to something larger than a family portrait.
Project Nanhi Kali’s annual “Proud Fathers For Daughters” campaign, founded by Anand Mahindra and photographer Atul Kasbekar, has a straightforward model: families participate in photoshoots with top photographers, and the fees go directly toward educating underprivileged girls across India. Simple in concept, significant in impact.
The Frame Within the Frame
There’s a reason this works. The campaign taps into the father-daughter relationship at its best: supportive, encouraging, proud. By calling fathers “Her First Coach,” PFFD acknowledges the mentorship role many fathers play, while gently nudging those conversations into the broader arena of girls’ education and empowerment.
Over the campaign period, Mumbai families responded to the call through social media and registrations, participating in a two-day event where professional photographers captured genuine moments. Each session became a small act of advocacy, connecting individual families to the education of thousands of girls through Project Nanhi Kali.
The funds don’t just cover school fees. They support comprehensive programs including educational resources, physical education, and life skills, giving underprivileged girls the foundation to imagine different futures. Project Nanhi Kali works to break cycles of poverty through education, and PFFD provides the fuel for that work.
What makes the initiative resonate is its honest exchange: families get something meaningful (a professionally captured moment with their daughters), while contributing to educational access for girls who need it most. No one’s asking for charity. They’re offering participation in change.
