Bollywood is always been famous for its music and dances and its action movies all over the world but there is a side of Bollywood that maybe a lot of people don't know about. In this blog, we are gonna explore the side of Bollywood that represents and educates us about mental health and its importance.
Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Taare Zameen Par is also known as the “like Stars on Earth”. It is a story about an eight-year-old boy named Ishaan Awasthi who struggles with Dyslexia, a learning disability. His world is full of wonders that no one seems to understand and appreciate in the full world of competitors. He was great trouble in school as he wasn't doing well in what a normal child was expected to do at his age which made the teachers question his parent that their child was different from other kids but his father refused to accept the truth and just need “to be disciplined “ which made him send Ishaan to boarding school. During his time in boarding school, Ishaan suffered from various mental issues like Separation trauma, Depression and Self-esteem. Until he found his guardian angel Ram Shankar Nikumbh, an art teacher who changed Ishaan's world. He made Ishaan feel validated and brought his passion back, helped his parents understand their son's disability, accepted his uniqueness and gave Ishaan a new life.
Taare Zameen Par serves a powerful and heartwarming message about the challenges individuals face with dyslexia and mental illness.
Margiata with Straw (2014)
If you are looking for a movie that represents Self-love and Acceptance, Margiate with Straw is your cup of tea.
Margiata with Straw is a story about a girl Laila, a young woman with cerebral palsy. Even with her disabilities, Laila was a great writer and musician who embarked on self-discovery as she moved from Delhi to New York to study. While in New York, she got involved in a band where she met a young activist named Khanum, a blind girl of Pakistan-Bangladesh descent with whom she fell in love and formed a deep connection.
It is an amazing story that follows the themes of disability, sexuality and identity, independence and empowerment and family relationships. This movie gained recognition for its unique and bold approach to addressing the issues of disabled rights, and LGBTQ+ representation and acceptance.
Dear Zindagi (2016 )
Dear Zindagi is a well-written movie portraying Therapy and Mental issues and how it's okay to seek professional help when dealing with mental health issues. It is about a girl named Kaira, a budding cinematographer who seeks a perfect life. She should be happy but she is not. Everything started to go downhill whether it came to relationships with her parents or partners which made her disconnected from her life. Until she decided to seek therapy and met his therapist “ Dr khan “ who helped her kaira to find her inner peace with his unique techniques which often led her to be confused during sessions. During the sessions, she opened up about her past, family issues, relationship and her fears.
Dear Zindagi is about the journey of a girl to find her own lost self and how she was able to find happiness in small things, embrace imperfections and find her near peace with the help of her therapist. It also taught various life lessons during the movie.
Gehraiyaan (2022)
Gehraiyaan movie is about intimate and complex relationships in modern times. This movie revolves around relationship dynamics but the “ Alisha “ character played by Deepika Padukone is a great representation of “Childhood Trauma and Anxiety”. Throughout the movie, you can see how Alisha's past is explored and revealed the traumatic events she experienced during her childhood and how they left deep scars that impacted her adult life and her relationship.
How her underlying situation with her father after her mother's death affected her childhood. Just like Alisha, people with childhood trauma always have a fear that they gonna end up just like their parents.
This movie dives into the psychological aspects of Alisha's life and how her past trauma influenced her behaviour, her decision making and her interaction with others. There are some mixed opinions about Gehraiyaan on the internet but still, it has great representation.
15 Park Avenue (2005)
15 Park Avenue film directed by Aparna Sen revolves around Schizophrenia (A disorder that affects a person's ability to think, feel and behave clearly ). It is a story about the two sisters, Anjali and Methi. Anjali is the rock of the family and carer of her younger sister who progresses in schizophrenia because of the traumatic experience. Because of schizophrenia and other mental issues, Methi always had a hard time insight between reality and behaviour. Anjali dedicated her life to taking care of her sister and she even asked Jojo to marry her sister.
This movie is a great representation of schizophrenia and the emotional baggage of caring for someone with mental illness. The themes explored in the movie are schizophrenia, family sacrifices and reality and fanaticizes.
