Zindaginama Review: An Earnest Take on Mental Health That Misses the Mark

DA Gadgets October 10, 2024 entertainment

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Imagine
watching
a
water
bottle
falling
and
your
immediate
thought
is
that
your
best
friend
would
trip
on
it,
hurt
themselves
or
die
in
a
freak
incident.
Or
when
your
hands
brush
past
someone
you
fancy,
instead
of
feeling
the
thrill
of
attraction,
you
withdraw
in
horror —
scared,
panicked,
teary-eyed.
While
these
might
not
be
the
regular
reactions
of
someone
with
a
healthy
brain,
many
amongst
us,
suffering
from
mental
distress
and
anxiety
battle
this
every
day.

This
World
Mental
Health
Day,
Sony
Liv
has
dropped
a
new
anthology
series
with
six
standalone
stories
on
various
mental
distresses
such
as
obsessive-compulsive
disorder
(OCD),
schizophrenia,
eating
disorders,
post-traumatic
stress
disorder
(PTSD),
and
more.

What
makes
this
show
distinct
from
typical
ones
that
touch
upon
real-life
issues,
is
that
it
ditches
cinematic
dramatization
and
information
overload
for
a
realistic
portrayal
of
how
these
issues
affect
the
everyday
lives
of
humans.
The
setup
is
relatable,
and
it
feels
that
we’ve
met
these
characters
around
us.

In
these
six
different
stories
about
mental
health,
we
see
a
corporate
employee
fretting
about
calories,
a
teenage
boy
being
bullied
in
his
village,
and
a
man
cutting
off
his
friends
after
an
ugly
breakup.
While
some
of
the
stories
start
right
from
the
distressing
symptoms,
others
gradually
ease
into
it.

Shivani
Raghuvanshi
suffers
from
obsessive-compulsive
disorder
in
Malika
Kumar’s
The
Daily
Puppet
Show
(Episode
6)

The
show
presses
on
the
commonality
of
such
issues
and
how
easily
we
undermine
the
numbers.
It
makes
a
careful
choice
to
pick
up
stories
across
the
economic
strata,
from
financially
struggling
families
and
middle-class
abodes
to
the
upper
middle-class
and
well-to-do
clans.
Although
the
show
doesn’t
delve
into
the
deeper
details
of
disorders,
with
each
episode
spanning
roughly
half
an
hour,
it
gives
a
fair
idea
of
what
it’s
like
to
live
with
a
specific
mental
health
disorder.

The
story
that
I
found
the
strongest
was
Sahaan
Hattangadi’s
Purple
Duniya.
The
writing
and
the
performances
shine
in
this
unpredictable
tale.
Two
minutes
into
the
episode,
we
see
a
purple
rubber
duck
floating
in
an
apartment,
flooded
with
water,
vibing
to
rave
music.
Okay,
Hattangadi,
you
have
my
full
attention.

We
then
meet
our
actual
protagonist,
Raag
(Tanmay
Dhanania),
a
30-year-old
who
lost
his
job
and
was
dumped
by
his
fiancé
a
few
months
ago.
Since
then,
he
has
isolated
himself
and
doesn’t
pick
up
the
calls
of
his
friends
and
family.
Sounds
dark?
Well,
here’s
the
twist:
he
is
happy,
energetic,
and
super
chill.
He
sees
the
world
around
him
in
the
colour
of
purple —
traffic
lights,
nameplates,
and
even
trucks —
as
he
snakes
through
the
roads
on
his
bike
at
questionably
high
speeds
and
keeps
zoning
out.

Tanmay
Dhanania’s
Purple
Duniya
(Episode
2)
is
an
interesting
representation
of
mental
health
issues
in
modern
times

Throughout
the
episode,
I
found
myself
googling,
trying
to
decode
the
issue
the
episode
was
dealing
with.
The
story
kept
me
invested
throughout
and
surprised
me
towards
the
end.
I
wish
I
could
tell
more,
but
anything
that
I
say
now
would
be
a
spoiler.

My
next
favourite
was
Sumeet
Vyas’s
Caged,
helmed
by
Danny
Mamik
along
with
Hattangadi.
Here
we
see
the
unlikely
bond
between
Vyas,
the
city-returned
son
of
the
wealthiest
man
in
the
village,
and
a
shy
teenage
boy
played
by
Mohammad
Samad

Tumbbad.
The
latter
gets
bullied
around
and
is
heavily
misunderstood
and
lonely.
He
wants
to
study
literature,
but
his
parents
are
forcing
him
to
take
up
medicine
as
a
career.

Mohammad
Samad
has
given
one
of
the
finest
performances
in
the
show

Both
these
characters
are
wrapped
in
inhibitions
of
their
own
and
find
solace
in
each
other’s
company.
The
entire
episode
is
poetic
and
well-written.
Samad’s
performance
is
one
of
the
best
in
the
entire
series.
His
emotions,
inner
struggles,
and
suffocation
resonate
though
the
screen.

Next
was
Shreyas
Talpade’s
Swagatam,
where
he
is
suffering
from
schizophrenia.
He
no
longer
has
a
job,
is
supported
by
his
wife,
and
lives
in
a
constant
paranoia
of
someone
chasing
him.
His
condition
hasn’t
advanced
so
much
that
he
hallucinates,
but
he
can’t
be
left
unattended
and
spends
the
day
with
a
help
group
during
the
day.

Sukriti
Tyagi’s
story
gives
a
careful
portrayal
of
schizophrenic
patients,
treating
them
as
humans.
The
condition
is
portrayed
through
near
visual
trickery,
too.
All
the
scenes
with
Talpade
have
a
dull
yellowish
tint
to
them.
As
soon
as
he
exits
the
screen,
everything
is
brightly
lit
and
lively.
Swagatam
also
excels
in
showing
the
struggles
of
families
of
schizophrenic
patients,
who
suffer
physical,
emotional,
social,
and
financial
tolls.
And
while
the
story’s
momentum
keeps
ebbing,
Tyagi’s
treatment
of
the
subject
is
entertaining
and
informative.

Shweta
Basu
Prasad
has
done
an
impressive
portrayal
of
a
PTSD
patient
in
Aditya
Sarpotdar’s
Bhanwar
(Episode
3)

Shweta
Basu
Prasad
and
Priya
Bapat’s
performances
were
the
highlights
of
the
anthology.
Both
women,
one
from
a
village
and
the
other
from
the
city,
dread
intimacy.
They
cry,
shiver
and
even
go
breathless
at
the
touch
of
the
opposite
gender.
They
play
women
suffering
from
post-traumatic
stress
disorder,
and
their
portrayal
is
one
of
the
best
I’ve
seen
in
recent
films
on
the
subject.
I
wish
their
episode —
Bhanwar —
knew
more
about
what
to
do
with
these
amazing
artists.

Zindaginama
has
good
intentions
but
isn’t
able
to
keep
up
the
momentum.
While
some
stories
will
speak
to
you
effortlessly,
others
will
fail
to
keep
you
invested.
The
latter
ones
feel
like
an
unfinished
job,
with
a
random
slice
of
someone’s
life
being
presented.
Despite
tackling
important
themes
and
lesser-known
aspects
of
mental
health
issues
tactfully,
the
show
falters
in
execution.
Films
and
television
shows
with
social
messages
—
especially
such
sensitive
ones —
need
to
walk
a
thin
line,
balancing
facts
and
information
with
entertainment,
so
they
don’t
seem
preachy.
That’s
how
you
keep
people
glued
while
raising
awareness
about
a
taboo
subject.
Because
what’s
the
point
of
an
informational
show
if
an
ignorant
person
gets
bored
and
turns
it
off?

And
it
doesn’t
help
that
the
quality
of
tone
of
the
six
stories
oscillate
wildly
with
each
episode.
While
I
really
want
to
recommend
a
few
stories
out
of
the
anthology,
the
rest
can
be
easily
skipped.
Nevertheless,
Zindaginama
is
an
earnest
attempt
at
normalising
mental
health
issues
and
humanising
people
who
suffer
from
them,
and
it
deserves
appreciation
for
the
same.