Mental illness in movies is something that is worth showing and portraying. This way people will be able to understand the dangers mental illness can bring. People in India are not aware of mental illness and treat it as taboo.
Through movies and TV shows, the stigma around mental illness will be reduced hopefully. There are some Bollywood movies that portray mental illness primarily right. By ‘primarily right’ it is meant that in most mental illness is portrayed as the person being sad and grumpy which is not the right way to showcase it, as mental illness is something more an just being sad.
Here is a list of Bollywood movies that portray mental illness:
- Tamasha (2015)
Tamasha is a 2015 Indian romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala from his studio, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. It features Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.
Ved played by Ranbir Kapoor struggles with an identity crisis. He suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder and has been shown to suffer from behavioural and identity issues in the movie.
- Dear Zindagi (2016)
Dear Zindagi portrays that seeking professionals is what we all should do when suffering from any mental illness.
Talking about what are we going through is crucial and asking for help is not a sign of weakness.
After a series of career and relationship downturns, Kaira played by Alia Bhatt begins suffering from insomnia. She contacts Dr Jehangir Khan, a psychologist, who uses unconventional methods to treat her.
- Karthik calling Karthik (2010)
Karthik Calling Karthik is a 2010 Indian psychological thriller film, written and directed by Vijay Lalwani and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment and Reliance Big Pictures. The film stars Farhan Akhtar and Deepika Padukone in lead roles.
Karthik Narayan (Farhan Akhtar) is an introvert who lacks confidence and feels trapped in his average job at a construction company. He is continuously troubled by an incident from his childhood: His elder brother, Kumar, used to torture him, but whenever he complained to his parents, they did not believe him. One day, Kumar took Karthik to a well and tried to throw him in it, but Karthik escaped. Kumar accidentally fell inside the well and died. Karthik has thought of himself as responsible for his brother’s death ever since.
The film talks about dissociative identity disorder and schizophrenia that Farhan Akhtar’s character Karthik is suffering from.
Information source- wikipedia.com
