Mental health...

Over the years, although there have been movies which have done a better job at representation as compared to the rest, the attitudes remain the same.

Kiran Kotrial, a popular screenwriter, says, “Broadly speaking, there hasn’t been any real change in the representation of mental health in mainstream commercial cinema as words like paagal are loosely used and aren’t yet considered to be politically incorrect.”

From normalising discriminatory behaviour, to mocking characters with mental illnesses through supposedly comic roles like in Krazzy 4, to sensationalising psychological disorders, or emphasising the criminality and unpredictability of the mentally ill ( like in Darr), or lampooning mental hospitals like in Humshakals... the list goes on.

The misinformed usage of umbrella terms like “depression” and “schizophrenia” as explanations to mental illnesses only show the large disparities between a DSM criterion and Bollywood’s distortions. Most movies also fail to show clear distinctions between learning or intellectual disabilities and psychotic disorders, leaving the audience bewildered.

Psychiatrists are also ill- represented, with some performing roles of exorcists or encouraging exorcism, like Akshay Kumar in Bhool Bhulaiya, which gives an impression that mental illnesses translate to supernaturalism. Or you have the situation where the reellife psychiatrists suggest Electro Convulsive Therapy ( ECT) in an ominous manner, like Om Puri in Kyon Ki.

You might think we’re making a mountain of a molehill and you might cite artistic licence, sure… but don’t think that irresponsible representation doesn’t add to the problem of stigma, as people within the industry are well aware.

Fauzia Khan, a Creative Producer, says, “Mental health is still represented in a highly exaggerated fashion with mainly physical manifestations. The Indian audience has a tendency to be influenced by this representation and feel that the sphere is in black and white. Any real de- stigmatisation is possible only if there is a realistic portrayal and characters suffering from mental illnesses aren’t used as caricatures.”

The most recent addition to this atrocity is the upcoming comedy movie Mental Hai Kya which aims to “bring out the crazy in you as sanity is overrated” and that “crazy is the new normal”.

Really? At a point where mental health needs utmost attention, it is exasperating to see filmmakers c h o o s i n g problematic titles that are born from loose, derogatory phrases used in Indian languages.

Any real de- stigmatisation is possible only if there is a realistic portrayal and characters suffering from mental illnesses aren’t used as caricatures — FAUZIA KHAN, creative producer