In Two Minds

From psychologically sensitive biopics to farcical comedies, cinema is forever engaged with the idea of fractured identities.

- Rehana Munir

‘I'm afraid I can't explain myself, sir. Because I am not myself, you see?’ — Alice in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland

Popular Indian cinema carries within it a natural division: the infamous ‘interval’. It’s usually the point at which the rising action has attained its peak. Viewers know that when they’re back with their popcorn and samosas, the action will begin to fall. The conflict will move in the direction of a resolution, whether agreeable or not. This externally imposed division comes in handy when it comes to films that explore themes of internal division.

To reference a recent film, Imtiaz Ali’s Tamasha (2015), we see the carefree character played by Ranbir Kapoor in the ‘first half ’ turn into the altogether different Ranbir of the ‘second half ’. The Dev Anand-mimicking, lighthearted flirt has somehow transformed into a corporate automaton with serious interpersonal and anger issues. Among its many flaws, the film does not overtly name his disorder, although we see stray mentions to bipolar disorder in pamphlets pasted in Ranbir’s office. This kind of vague suggestion is quite typical of our mainstream movies that have traditionally treated mental health issues as too heavy for the format. And, yet, popular cinema does have the power to make these mental divisions and breakdowns relatable to a general audience, thanks to the immediacy and verisimilitude of the medium.