5 Marathi films on mental health awareness

The term ‘mentally ill’, does bring some stereotypical images in our minds like a person looking blankly on the walls, mumbling to themselves, aggressive behaviour etc. Our perception of mental illness is quite limited, all thanks to the films we watch. For those who have been looking forward to get the better understanding of mental illness, here is a list of Marathi films that are realistic in their approach and did not negatively portray those who have mental illnesses.

Kaasav

National Award winning Marathi film 'Kaasav' directed by filmmaker duo Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar, revolves around a depressed youngster.

Maanav (Alok Rajwade) has been hospitalized for cutting his wrists. He runs away from the hospital, but Janaki (Iravati Harshe) finds him collapsed on the side of the road. She asks her driver Yadu (Kishor Kadam) to take him home to Goa and appoints a private doctor. Janaki is a divorcee who often consults a psychologist for her panic attacks. She also helps Dattabhau (Mohan Agashe), who is working on an Olive Ridley Sea Turtles conservation program.

Astu: So Be It

Astu is a film again directed by the duo Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Suktankar and stars Mohan Agashe, Iravati Harshe, Milind Soman and Amruta Subhash in lead roles. The film is about Dr Chakrapani Shastri, a Sanskrit scholar who has been diagnosed with the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease.

One day, as Ram has to appear for his exams, Shastri's elder daughter Ira takes Shastri to her house. While driving back home, Ira stops at a shop, requesting Shastri to stay in the car. The story takes an interesting turn when Shastri sees a passing elephant on the road, and gets fascinated. He then starts following the elephant through the lanes of the city. When Ira comes back and finds her father missing from the car, she and her husband, Madhav starts looking for Shastri at various places and also reports him to the police station.

Yellow

Yellow is a 2014 Marathi film directed by Mahesh Limaye. The story explores a mother-daughter relationship involving developmental disability and childlike behaviour.The directorial debut film is based on a true story of Gauri Gadgil, a child with special needs, who also plays herself in the film.

The story is about Mugdha and Shekhar who are parents of Gauri (Gauri Gadgil), a child with down's syndrome having mental disability. Despite her unsupportive husband, Mugdha wants to bring Gauri up normally. She separates from her husband and starts living with her brother Shri. However Gauri remains tough to handle, till she discovers her love for swimming.

Devrai

Devrai directed by filmmaker duo Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar stars Atul Kulkarni, Sonali Kulkarni, Devika Daftardar, Tushar Dalvi, and Mohan Agashe. It depicts a story of a man who suffers from schizophrenia and is struggling to come to terms with his illness and the frustration of his helpless sister. As a child, Shesh Desai grew up with this mother and cousin Kalyani. He getsattracted to Kalyani but his mother forces her to leave the village. This upsets Shesh who then fails to graduate from college and is asked to look after the family's mango orchard. He gradually becomes a loner and eccentric after his mother's death and sister's marriage.

Ratra Aarambh

Ratra Aarambh is a Marathi thriller movie directed by Ajay Phansekar, released in India in 1999, starring Dilip Prabhavalkar as an old man suffering from split personality. This was the first Marathi movie on paranoid schizophrenia

The story revolves around the two worlds inhabited by Prabhakar Phadke and Dilip Prabhavalkar - an ordinary senior citizen who is an avid reader of crime fiction. Living his normal life by day, he is transformed into his fantasy world by night. This is the world in which he imagines himself to be a blind industrialist who is the target of conspiracies of his near and dear ones. This schizophrenia leads to a tragedy in his real life and he ends up at a mental asylum where the psychiatrists try to separate the fantasy from reality so that he can lead his normal life once again.