Mental Health Awareness

1.A film on 'mental health awareness', are you nuts it is a very dry subject.

2.Even the west doesn't acknowledge mental health issues, in India audience won't even relate to it.

3.Such a subject isn't commercially viable in India

These are just three of the very many responses I got from trade-pundits and investors, when I decided to make the very first feature film in the APAC region on mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Thankfully, I listened to all as always; but again, as always I did what my heart told me - go ahead and make the film!

Two or three days back I was watching the legendary Amitabh Bachchan talk to Deepika Padukone on KBC. Deepika was honest enough to say that in 2014 at the peak of her career, she felt like ending it all. In the night I came across this article in TOI where Academy Awards / Oscar winner A.R, Rahman talks about battling suicidal thoughts.

It again underlines the huge importance of addressing mental-health issues.

Point is with all the success and money, we have here, two top celebs in India from the north and the south, undergoing same emotions to end it all. Why?

It is absolutely the right time for the government to make mental-health lessons and classes a must right from the school. Unless, kids are aware that such a problem exists, they won't even realize the problem when they step into adulthood and further into the youth.

Today, I got an invite to attend a film festival in US with my film on mental-health awareness, whether I make it there or not really depends on my sched; but the fact that the film is being acknowledged gives me the same high that probably winners of Academy Awards get on their win!