‘Zindaginama’ review: A sincere and well-performed effort to bust myths about mental health problems

Zindaginama reveals its intention in its title. The exploration of mental health issues is positive rather than negative, uplifting when it could have been downbeat.

The Sony LIV show aims to bust myths about conditions that are more common than we realise. Zindaginama has been created by Neerja Birla, with clinical advice from the MPower mental health care centre. Several writers and directors have put their minds to portraying an array of ailments sensitively as well as engagingly.

The six episodes tackle schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, gender dysphoria, anorexia, gaming addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. Each problem gets its own case study, with varying results.

The most compelling episode is the one on schizophrenia. Shreyas Talpade plays Mukul, whose paranoia has cost him his job and peace of mind. His wife Malti (Anjali Patil) keeps the house running but has to attend to Mukul’s hallucinations ever so often.

Written by Sukriti Tyagi, Ishaan Rai, Rahul Hota and directed by Tyagi, this episode gives the most clear-eyed sense of what it means to live with a debilitating condition. The couple’s straitened economic circumstances make it clear that schizophrenia can happen to anybody. Apart from a solid performance by Talpade, Patil is moving as the supportive spouse who herself needs comfort from...

Read more