Normalising mental illness

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Deokar witnessed a parade march of the Maharashtra Cadet Corps students on Republic Day in 2014, he was inspired with the thoughts of how a leader should be, influencing him to write the story of Mhorkya (The Leader). It is the debut feature film of director, writer, actor and co-producer Amar Bharat Deokar. From 2014 to 2017, it was an obstacle course race for the movie's completion and release. 

The shooting took place in tedious weather conditions and locations. Deokar had to even sell two acres of his land in order to cover post-production costs. His efforts bore fruit when Mhorkya bagged the award for the Best Children's Film at the 65th National Film Awards of India 2017 and three Awards at Pune International Film Festival. 

Deokar is a dedicated and passionate filmmaker who focuses on every single aspect of the movie. "Every frame of the movie is pregnant with the genetics of the content and you can dissect it to see the tissues," says Deokar while talking about his movie. 

Deokar plays the character of a soldier suffering from schizophrenia (a mental disorder), who helps the protagonist to train for the parade. Through this portrayal he was able to normalise mental illness and bring it to the forefront. The movie revolves around the lives of school children primarily,  Aashyaa, a 14-year-old, who aspires to be the leader of the parade. The realistic connection to the movie is what makes this movie special for children. 

Though a movie about children and their aspiring dreams, Mhorkya places a metaphorical approach to our current political scenario as well. "In the current state of Indian politics, there is no leader we can faithfully follow. If anyone eligible comes up, they are cut off by the corrupt politicians", said Deokar. "The target audience for this movie is the youth and children as they need to see the injustices taking place and rise up to be prominent leaders. However, I do believe that the target audience should never limit the audience of the movie. It is a movie for both children and adults," he said.

Deokar had always wanted to be a part of ICFFK and is elated with the opportunity he got this year. He came all the way from Maharashtra to see the response of the screening as well as get feedback on the same. "The crowd in Kerala is more progressive compared to where I come from. I want to know the opinions of the audience here so I can learn and improve", he said. Deokar was part of the rebellion against the National Award and gave up his award seeing the injustice in the way artists were not rightly recognised.