Take a ride on crazy express from Chennai

BENGALURU: Take a ride on Kirukku Nagaram Express to a town where everyone suffering from mental illness is called ‘mad’. The play, directed by Karthik A, create awareness on mental health and the lack of knowledge on it.Karthik says, “In Tamil, Kirukku means ‘mad’, which is how people often label those who are mentally challenged. There is still a lack of mental health awareness, even among educated people.” The play talks about different kinds of mental issues through four different plots, including one on postpartum depression. At the end of the play, there will be a discussion with the audience where they can share their views and review the performance.

“The idea is to get them to talk about the various issues pertaining to mental health,” says Karthik, who started working on it in August last year. He spent almost a year researching, and the play finally premiered in Chennai in July this year. “I did not know much about mental health earlier. According to a statistics, one in every three persons in the world, and one in probably every five persons in India, are suffering from mental health issues. What the other four people in every five people can do to support the others, matters a lot.”

Karthik says he spoke to several psychologists, counsellors, psychology students and therapists to understand the subject better. “I contacted the NGO LonePack, which is based out of Bengaluru and works for the cause. It was eight months of research. Then we worked on the script. It’s a satirical musical,” he adds. The play opens with a story on schizophrenia. “Even today, a lot of people misconstrue mental illness. They think they are possessed by ghosts. As a society, how much have we progressed from the 16th Century?,” he asks.

The other plays are about how people expect a lot from athletes who get depressed after losing a match, bullying in schools, and postpartum depression.Karthik has designed the production as a mobile and modular play with four actors who are interacting with the audience. The play has been staged 13 times at unconventional places such as community spaces and schools for a wide variety of audiences in Chennai, and has been received well, he says.

“We have staged it at schools, and the students were really touched by it. They discussed it after and were able to express their feelings,” he says, adding that there was a boy with speech problems and he was being bullied by his classmates. He was bold enough to stand up and speak for two minutes. “This also opened up discussions about what children should do and whom they should report to if they are being bullied. We could engage both students and school staff on this.”

Proceeds of play to go to city NGO
Kirukku Nagaram Express will stop by Bengaluru this weekend. It will be staged on December 9 at Lahe Lahe at 4.30 pm and on December 10 at Attakkalari at 3 pm and 7 pm. The proceeds from the play will be contributed to LonePack, Bengaluru.