World Mental Health Day 2022: 5 Bollywood movies about mental health

Director Gauri Shinde sheds light on childhood trauma and how it affects adult relationships in this enlightening film.  

Kaira (Alia Bhatt), an ambitious cinematographer, has a dysfunctional relationship with her parents but gets immense support from her circle of friends. Her two best friends Fatima (Ira Dubey) and Jackie (Yashaswini Dayama) tend to her emotional needs but the one to bring the biggest breakthrough in her emotional life is her therapist Dr. Jehangir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan). He makes her realise that she needs to befriend herself and make peace with her inner child to grow forward. And when Kaira leaves his office for the last time, she inwardly acknowledges that this was the most unexpected and yet life-changing friendship of her life. Watch it on Netflix.

Imtiaz Ali's psychological romance film starring Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone addressed a broad spectrum of mental illnesses on screen. The movie shows the monotonous corporate lives of a young couple and focusses on Ved Vardhan Sahni (played by Kapoor) and Tara (played by Deepika). The movie shows Ved, who is suffering from behavioural and identity issues, experiencing meltdowns at work and in his personal life. 

Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer 'Chhichhore' made us realize how little we talk about our mental health and what we lose while engaging in the rat race of being successful. The movie shows Rajput teaching his son, who tries to end his life upon finding out that he has not qualified for IIT, the real meaning of life. 

Aamir Khan’s hit movie revolves around a specially-abled child and his journey towards discovering his true potential. The poignant tale showcases how a teacher uses unconventional methods to bring out the child’s inherent talents.  
 

Aparna Sen's movie '15 Park Avenue' is hard to forget. Sen beautifully brought to light the different facets of mental illness. Konkona Sen did a stellar job playing a young woman with schizophrenia and is taken care of by her older, divorced sister Anjali aka Anu (Shabana Azmi), who is a professor, and their ageing mother (Waheeda Rehman). The movie traces her traumatic experiences and the effect of her situation on her family.