Rare diseases current flavour of Bollywood

Bollywood seems to be setting a new trend in exploring rare diseases with directors casting superstars in roles which seek to raise awareness about such lesser known ailments.

NGOs and social workers are cheering the move, which they say would result in an increase in the awareness and sensitivity among those who were ignorant of such diseases.

In the upcoming flick Paa, superstar Amitabh Bachchan plays a child affected with Progeria, a rare genetic disorder, where a child ages three times faster than normal.

Those affected by the medical condition usually have a short lifespan and the average patient survives only upto the early teens, say doctors.

However, some patients can live up to 30 years and the cause of death is usually related to the heart or a stroke.

R Balki, director, Paa accepts that cinema has the strength to help disease affected people by portrayal.

"Yes, it definitely creates awareness and sensitivity about patients affected with any disease which is less known to people," says Balki.

Big B plays a 13-year-old who looks 39 in the film, in which actors Abhishek Bachchan  and Vidya Balan are cast as his parents.

Sekhar Chattopadhyay, of the SB Devi Charitable Trust in Kolkata, which looks after a family affected by Projeria, says, "Amitabh Bachchan playing a Projeric will definitely make people aware about this very rare disease."

Likewise in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next, Guzaarish, Hrithik Roshan is potrayed as suffering from paraplegia, a complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs, usually caused by damage to the spinal cord.

Roshan says he did some intense research and watched videos to understand and study the mannerisms and behaviour of a paraplegic.

In another upcoming film My Name is Khan, Shahrukh Khan potrays the 'Asperger's syndrome' where the victim has difficulty interacting socially.

Previously, in Taare Zameen Par (TZP) Aamir Khan had created a huge impact by portraying the problems of dyslexic children.

Award winning lyricist Prasoon Joshi, who penned the film's songs says he feels the purpose of such a film is very important.

"It all depends on the film. It should not be a tamasha. TZP was a movie with its heart in the right place. It was a true effort to show what dyslexic people go through," he says.

Since dyslexia can not be detected easily, it required special effort to deal with the subject. And that's why it created such an awareness level among people regarding dyslexia, he adds.

Anjuli Bawa who runs an NGO that helps dyslexic people says that the movie made a big difference in changing people's outlook. "Parents and school teachers came up to me saying they did not know about dyslexia earlier but now, they understand it very well," she says.

Dr Dherandra Kumar, clinical psychologist based in the capital agrees that films are a strong medium and within a couple of hours people get to know about any disease within a matter of three hours.

TZP had a clear impact on people's sensiblities and the number of cases nearly doubled after its release, he says.

"We had patients in their twenties walking in after watching the film saying they did not know that they were suffering from dyslexia. Parents admitted they were more sensitive now and recognised their child's problem now," he adds.

Action-thriller Ghajini that was released in 2008, explores the life of a rich businessman played by Aamir Khan who develops anterograde amnesia, a selective memory deficit resulting from brain injury.

In Krazzy 4 Arshad Warzi was potrayed as a schizophrenic. Similarly in Black Amitabh Bachchan's was shown succumbing to Alzheimer's, a progressive and fatal brain disorder that destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems with thinking and behaviour severe enough to affect work, lifelong hobbies or social life.

The celebrity touch to such diseases not only makes people aware about it but also helps the families of the victims to deal with them more sensitively, say experts.