Devrai

Devrai: Story of a Schizophrenic
Hiren Kumar Bose
Published on www.chowk.com
October 18, 2005


You`re married living in a small Indian town, have a school-going child, and besides are burdened with an elder brother who is a patient of schizophrenia. What does one do? Despite an uncooperative husband you keep your brother with you, as Sonali Kulkarni does in the film "Devrai", take care of his needs, attend to him and see to it that he gets the proper medical care and is rehabilitated. May be that`s the reason enough that Devrai (in Marathi with English subtitles) has struck a chord among viewers and even won several awards.

`Devrai` is an entertaining human drama demystifying schizophrenia. Funded by the Maharashtra Seva Samiti Organisation (Canada) and the Canadian International Development Agency as part of the reach-out programme of SAA(Schizophrenia Awareness Association), the film aims at restoring hope and self-reliance among patients with schizophrenia.

According to statistics provided by the SAA, about one per cent of the Indian population is affected by schizophrenia out of which only 40 per cent seem to have access to medical care while the others tend to degenerate due to lack of medical facilities, ignorance, superstition and fear of stigma.

Most of us seem to cope reasonably well, when it comes to understanding and living with any physical illness. But when faced with an individual suffering from a mental problem, it becomes increasingly difficult to comprehend and accept what is going on. A psychiatric ailment, namely schizophrenia, smoulders for many years, before the symptoms become increasingly difficult for the near and dear ones to tolerate. It is often after many months or years that the patient has his first contact with a psychiatrist. The common symptoms of this disease include a detachment from reality, either an abusive violent behaviour or a withdrawn depressive one, and a surfeit of abnormal feelings, concepts and perceptions, often called hallucinations and delusions. The individual thus afflicted is also prone to extreme violence, both towards others and to himself or herself. Treatment involves medicines, counselling and often using Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) or shock therapy as is known in the layman`s language.

``Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that affects a person`s thinking process and has nothing to do with personality. The sooner we can rid society of this wrong notion of dual personalities, the better it will be for all concerned. That is where the importance of awareness comes in,`` says consulting psychiatrist Dr Soumitra Pathare.

Devrai is a sacred grove where diverse nature is given protection under the umbrella of faith, with the realization that each and every part of nature is sacred in this fabric of creation. The concept of the sacred grove finds its place in many regions. In Kerala they have the "Paamb Kaav", which is in fact a sacred grove offered to snakes. After declaring a plot of land as a "kaav" no cultivation or gathering is allowed. Gradually the land is taken over by anthills and then snakes. In today`s chaotic world we need to learn from this wisdom and create a space for every mind to realize its potential without being judgmental, discriminatory or condemnatory.

The story of Sheshshahi (Atul Kulkarni), a neglected victim of schizophrenia whose past unfolds as the fragments of memories of his close ones are put together. We enter into his mind and travel with him into the unknown world of broken reality. Then begins the process of his recovery. His own struggle from within and the struggle and compassion of his caregivers once again give meaning to his life.

Shesh is completely obsessed by `Devrai`. So much so that his mind renders a whole `Devrai` for him with mango trees and creepers anywhere, anytime. The viewer, in fact, gets inside his mind and have glimpse of his imagination. The plot moves along the path of Shesh`s recovery assisted by his sister`s utmost care and his own inner will to be sane.

The film has layers and conveys its message subtly. It tries to help people in understanding the idea that mental diseases like schizophrenia are very similar to physical ones in the fact that they are curable and are caused by inconsistencies in the body. And of course there is the message to save the environment.

Directed by Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar, Devrai isn`t only remarkable for the way it crystallises the pain-lashed protagonist Shesh`s twisted mind but also because it goes into the minds of those who suffer with the ill person.

Very often it`s the patient`s loved ones who require infinite patience and, in fact, suffer a trauma equal to the sick person. In "Devrai" we see how the schizophrenic`s sister is positioned in a precarious seesaw between her brother and peeved husband.

The husband is rightly concerned about the effect that his wife`s brother`s unpredictable behaviour would have on his professional and domestic life.

The narrative never resorts to cheap black-and-white simplifications to drive in its point. Instead we see the characters as being trapped in a situation that they cannot control and are most of the time unable to fathom fully.

Shesh is lost in his own world as well as lost in the world of normal people. Compassionate people including a girlfriend from the past who agrees to accompany him back to his village to look after him surround him blessedly. Such idealism cuts into the reality of the situation where mentally ill people are not just shunned, the true nature of their illness often remains undetected.

Devrai is remarkably successful in piercing and probing the protagonist`s restless mind. Layer by layer the film penetrates Shesh`s psychological trauma and permits the people around him (that includes the viewers) to come emotionally closer to him.

Cinematographer Debu Deodhar picks through the thick foliage of the greenery almost as if it were symbolic of the tangles in the protagonist`s mind.

If you`ve empathized with Russel Crowe in A Beautiful Mind you`re likely to do the same with Sesh for he is superbly competent in conveying his fixations, the rages that follow, and the anxieties. His portrayal of a patient after ECT (shock therapy) and when he is on schizophrenia medication is brilliant. The blank dead look is perfect. Even his eyes look dulled and he manages to convey the "catatonia" of such a patient brilliantly.

The movie scores in depiction of the family support groups and their interaction. The support extended by the patients to one another is very touching and is usually how such patient groups function and progress.

The entire film then revolves around how the patient, his family and relatives come to terms with the disease, how it affects their day to day life, the various treatments and the misconceptions around the treatment, and the anxieties of all concerned. One normally has absolutely no idea of what it entails, to care for a person with a mental illness. The unpredictability, the fears, the social stigmas, the everyday changing behaviour patterns, the wild fears and the phobias that this brings about, are all brilliantly captured.

Rarely does Indian cinema take on the role of a teacher, or advisor, or mentor; and Devrai does it with élan. Pertinent to what actor Om Puri said recently of films being too important a medium to be left only to entertain.