Updated on: 26 July, 2021 11:32 AM IST |
Ten Bollywood Films that focus on Mental Health
This 2015 comedy-drama directed by Shoojit Sircar, starred Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, and Irrfan Khan in lead roles. Although not stated exclusively in the film, Bachchans character, Bhashkor was suffering from hypochondria, a mental condition wherein a person believed himself to be sick, even if he was not so.
The blockbuster Barfi! saw Priyanka Chopra playing Jhilmil Chatterjee who suffers from Autism as a young girl. Her infectious chemistry with Ranbir Kapoor who played the titular role of a deaf and mute boy won hearts and brought tears of joy to many.
In the highly acclaimed Karan Johar directorial, Shah Rukh Khan plays the role of a man afflicted with Aspergers Syndrome. He received wide acclaim for his accurate portrayal of the character, and is said to have done a lot of research on the topic.
In this 2010 psychological drama-thriller, starring Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone in lead roles, Akhtars character, Karthik, suffers from what seems like a mixture of schizophrenia and Dissociative Identity Disorder. Karthik is shown to have a dominating alter ego that asserts and advises him on how to live his life, straighten his career and find his lady love.
A romantic psychological thriller, Ghajini was directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and starred Aamir Khan and Asin in lead roles. Aamir Khans character, Sanjay Singhania, suffers from what is called anterograde amnesia, which is characterised by an inability to form new memories after an uncalled event, leading to partial or complete inability to recall the recent past. The film triumphed by not only performing well at the box office, but also by receiving generally positive reviews from critics.
The movie was a huge hit due to its tear jerking portrayal of a child battling dyslexia. The movie shows how Darsheel Safary, who plays Ishaan Awasthi faces ridicule for behaving in a manner completely normal to him and how is brought to normalcy by his emphatic teacher played by Aamir Khan.
This comedy-horror-psychological-thriller, directed by Priyadarshan, starred Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, and Shiney Ahuja in lead roles. Balans character, Avni, suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, which shed started to develop in her childhood as portrayed in the movie.
In the movie, Big B portrays a character suffering from Alzheimers disease. Although the movie discussed the character in detail the condition was not the central theme of the movie. Nonetheless, Alzheimers got the much-needed limelight with Black.
Salman Khans most winning performance till date had him essay the role of a schizophrenic. His interpretation of the condition was accurate, though not all schizophrenics have to be in an asylum.
The movie revolved around a boy coping with mental retardation. Hrithik Roshan does complete justice to his role as a mentally challenged boy.
Showcasing situations where protagonists in films face mental issues can be challenging. But these ten Bollywood films do not just lay great emphasis on issues surrounding mental health, theyve also managed to create a winning box-office formula. Take a look.
