Posts tagged mentor

It isn’t easy spending almost all your married life explaining that your son has Asperger’s Syndrome. Now aged 35, he is a senior correspondent with a news agency, after graduating from St. Xavier’s College with Economics and Sociology and also securing a distinction in English at ICSE.

His achievements have mainly come about due to his cooperation in the interventions my husband Yorrick and I chose for him since he was three years old.

With problems faced by dyslexics portrayed in Taare Zamin Par, followed by progeria (Paa), it appeared that it wouldn’t be too long before Bollywood explored the idea of using asperger’s syndrome to promote a story.

Knowing the formulaic nature of the brand, I went to watch My Name Is Khan with mixed feelings and emerged with one question: Who did SRK model himself on?

The main intention of the film is clearly to highlight the plight of Muslims post 9/11. It appears that given the current scenario, everything is grist to the current Bollywood mill. Hence the introduction of a hero afflicted by Asperger’s Syndrome to heighten the travails of the underdog as hero.

However, the complexities of the disorder have been twisted to suit the plot. It is clear that the film-maker has only a vague idea of this complex condition. In the film SRK as Rizwan faces a double bias post 9/11 - having AS and being a Muslim. It is a very complicated situation and has to be dealt with sensitively by doing justice to both predicaments.

One is a human disability issue and the other, an important political issue. Cinema evokes powerful responses and can act as an engaging medium to draw attention to serious issues, to anguish and suffering, when handled with depth as has been done, for instance, in A Beautiful Mind, My Left Foot and indeed our own Taare Zamin Par. However, MNIK uses AS to push the point about religious prejudice.

AS, with its features of oddness immediately draws attention. Yet, it is Rizwan’s soft chanting of prayers that draws a co-passenger’s attention, following which he is taken aside to be thoroughly frisked at an international airport. An identity card showing him to be ‘autistic’ is found on his person and he’s subsequently released only to miss his flight.

There is no evidence of an identity card at the time of his arrest when he goes to meet the President much later in the film. This, after he’s been taken for counseling by his sister-in-law who recognises signs of the syndrome. Consistency is not one of the film’s strong points. Also, it is not clear how he manages to get an American visa on his own and navigate the customs at the airport.

There are many instances  in the film that reveal the confusion in portraying the central character. From his verbal and body language, he demonstrates traits of autism, autistic ‘savants’, high functional autism and asperger’s syndrome.

At several points in the film, SRK is probably so focused on his interpretation of the asperger’s look that he appears blind as well. But asperger’s syndrome is on the high-end of the spectrum, so adults have a less aloof expression. There is a good deal of significant difference in the spectrum.

The one thing that evokes immediate sympathy is the character of Ammi. She’s poor but with compassion, rejoices in her son’s abilities. Her belief in her son sustained by prayers and deep human values which underpin the courage with which she copes with harsh reality, resonate with me.

Parental and familial support is the prime reason for success in the lives of people with AS. Sibling animosity is commonly acknowledged and here it’s an authentic portrayal. The next close relationship Rizwan has is with Mandira. This is the USP of the film. Sadly, the film shows inadequate knowledge of the stresses of such relationships in real life. AS is marked by impairment in social interaction inevitably leading to an inability to enter into and maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships.

Case studies reveal that the non-AS spouse has to cope with additional roles including those of caregiver, mentor, advocate and executive secretary! The viewer may be won over by Kajol’s proven skills and gamine charm but serious questions remain. Although a good many ‘pretty women’ prefer personality over looks while choosing a partner, very few will choose one who’s got a visible personality disorder.

A prominent feature of AS is above-average talent in a special area. Rizwan is good at repairing machines. In one of the best scenes, a very young Rizwan, covered in grime, is happily sorting through used car parts in a junkyard before being chased out. His aptitude is strangely ignored by his brother when he employs him as a salesman in his cosmetics business.

There we go again! Their lack of social skills make them “back-office boys”. They are by definition not ‘marketers’. Resourcefulness of the kind displayed by Rizwan when he emerges as the hero who helps people when Cyclone Katrina hits Georgia, is exaggerated. In such a scenario, it’s highly unlikely that he would be an organiser.

The film glosses over genuine difficulties with spontaneous communication which impacts their social interaction. Individuals with AS are also known to be uncommunicative; Rizwan talks too much.

He is very well-groomed for the part as well. Those afflicted with AS really cannot be bothered about their appearance.

Finally, there’s the major problem when arrested by the police for declaring “My name is Rizwan Khan and I’m not a terrorist”. Research shows that individuals on the autism spectrum are seven times more likely to come into contact with police.

Typical manifestations of the disorder such as an inability to empathise, impulsive behaviour, over-frankness and a lack of understanding of the outcome of situations, may be misunderstood by law enforcement authorities with serious consequences.

The awareness of such difficulties has led parents and care-givers to form support groups in the US and many other countries which have succeeded in putting in place disability laws which protect the rights of this vulnerable segment of the population.

Strangely, none of this kind of restraint is shown when Rizwan is arrested till the media highlights his plight. This heartbreaking experience points the way to the direction in which our own legislation should move.

Notwithstanding all its inadequacies as far as research about the condition and portraying the disability goes, the film has several endearing moments for which this team (KJo, SRK and Kajol) is known for.