{"id":6258,"date":"2016-07-22T00:42:57","date_gmt":"2016-07-21T19:12:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258"},"modified":"2016-07-22T00:42:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-21T19:12:57","slug":"how-aparna-sens-15-park-avenue-depicted-mental-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6258","title":{"rendered":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“W<\/span>hat right do we have to take away the happiness Meethi gets from her imaginary world?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had to hit pause and take a breath when I heard Anu (Shabana Azmi) say this line to Dr Kunal (Dhritiman Chatterjiee), a psychiatrist<\/a>, while discussing the hallucinations of her schizophrenic sister, Meethi (Konkona Sen Sharma). It was this moment when I knew that Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue<\/em> wasn\u2019t your usual run-of-the-mill film trying to explain something that it does not understand. This empathetic<\/a> scene blurs the lines between what the society considers “normal” and what it conveniently deems “abnormal.\u201d It poses a rarely discussed question: If hallucinations are just as convincing as real perceptions, what right do we have to object to someone’s experience simply because it deviates from ours?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a mental health <\/a>activist and a film enthusiast, I\u2019m usually skeptical about Indian cinema\u2019s misguided portrayals of mental illness that have more often than not, bordered on romanticisation. More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue<\/em> came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we consider \u201cmental illness\u201d as a subgenre of cinema at all, it brings with it a burden on storytellers: What is it that they want to tell the story about? Is it about the person in distress? Is it about their journey to healing or perhaps it is a story in which this person only exists as a device? The National Award-winning 15 Park Avenue<\/em> transcends these questions. Meethi\u2019s diagnosis, her journey from the past to the present, as well as the burdens of a caregiver<\/a> are keenly etched out. What we witness is a gestalt of someone\u2019s life in psychological distress.

Is it about the person in distress? Is it about their journey to healing or perhaps it is a story in which this person only exists as a device?<\/blockquote>
We learn about Meethi\u2019s mental state in the film\u2019s opening sequence itself \u2014 she\u2019s in a car trying to find the address of her house (the titular 15 Park Avenue) but a minute later comes the realisation that there is something wrong. As it turns out, there is no address such as 15 Park Avenue; it is just a figment of her imagination. Her longing for a family<\/a>, a house with her husband and children, which was once a half-achieved dream, has moulded itself into symptoms of schizophrenia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a particularly striking sequence in the film that drives home the stigma attached to schizophrenia. While Anu teaches quantum mechanics at her college<\/a>, Meethi is being \u201ctreated\u201d by a faith healer at home. These two shots run parallel to each other hinting at the regressive mindset that spills over in the lives of even the most progressive people. Most people with mental illnesses in India, for instance, come to professionals after having visited such unreliable healers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the reason Meethi becomes a compelling character is due to the conviction in Sen Sharma\u2019s turn. It\u2019s also elevated by its attention to detail \u2014 there\u2019s a scene where Meethi unknowingly urinates while standing in the living room. Although this isn\u2019t directly linked to schizophrenia, it does happen to be a typical side effect of the medication<\/a>. I wonder how many filmmakers would have gone so far to retain such an important detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more remarkable is how Sen\u2019s writing lays bare the origins of Meethi\u2019s schizophrenia. Instead of relying on causal factors, the film gets into specifics. We\u2019re told that Meethi\u2019s symptoms are triggered by an encounter of horrific sexual abuse <\/a>but that she has also carried within herself a biological vulnerability for developing schizophrenia. The reasoning is backed up by a peek into her childhood: the tragic loss of her parents, the episodic isolations, as well as the weird sensation that people could hear her swallowing. All these tiny, vivid details pose significant clinical information. Sen also smartly uses dialogue to bust the myths that often stop patients from seeking professional help. The conversations between Dr Kunal and Meethi raise serious questions over the power structures that alienate people with mental illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than anything, 15 Park Avenue<\/em>\u2019s normalisation of mental illness stands out even today, given that Sen refuses to other it. The split in Meethi\u2019s mind doesn\u2019t estrange her; it invites viewers to live her experience in many layers. What Sen manages to remind her through the film is that perhaps, in dreams<\/a> or while awake, we have all once struggled to find our way home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":396,"featured_media":6259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3114],"tags":[10274,10275,707,1639,783,1234],"class_list":["post-6258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bollywood","tag-15-park-avenue","tag-konkana-sen-sharma","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-illness","tag-schizophrenia","tag-shabana-azmi"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-21T19:12:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243-1024x573.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"573\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Prateek Sharma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Prateek Sharma\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Prateek Sharma\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2e87e78f0fb855096bcf5434e44c47d6\"},\"headline\":\"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-21T19:12:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258\"},\"wordCount\":790,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1582098243.png\",\"keywords\":[\"15 park avenue\",\"konkana sen sharma\",\"mental health\",\"Mental Illness\",\"Schizophrenia\",\"Shabana Azmi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bollywood\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258\",\"name\":\"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1582098243.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-07-21T19:12:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2e87e78f0fb855096bcf5434e44c47d6\"},\"description\":\"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1582098243.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1582098243.png\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6258#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2e87e78f0fb855096bcf5434e44c47d6\",\"name\":\"Prateek Sharma\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/44ed4cd22a315c3894d227dabd55be0e23524a42a33f9ff6bc3f6933aba09574?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/44ed4cd22a315c3894d227dabd55be0e23524a42a33f9ff6bc3f6933aba09574?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/44ed4cd22a315c3894d227dabd55be0e23524a42a33f9ff6bc3f6933aba09574?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Prateek Sharma\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=396\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It","description":"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It","og_description":"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-07-21T19:12:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":573,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243-1024x573.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Prateek Sharma","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It","twitter_description":"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Prateek Sharma","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258"},"author":{"name":"Prateek Sharma","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/2e87e78f0fb855096bcf5434e44c47d6"},"headline":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It","datePublished":"2016-07-21T19:12:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258"},"wordCount":790,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243.png","keywords":["15 park avenue","konkana sen sharma","mental health","Mental Illness","Schizophrenia","Shabana Azmi"],"articleSection":["Bollywood"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258","name":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243.png","datePublished":"2016-07-21T19:12:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/2e87e78f0fb855096bcf5434e44c47d6"},"description":"More than 15 years since 15 Park Avenue came out, I doubt any other Indian film tailored sensitivity and accuracy with a poignant storyline on mental illness as beautifully as Aparna Sen managed to portray in 15 Park Avenue.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243.png","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6258#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Aparna Sen\u2019s 15 Park Avenue Depicted Mental Illness Without Romanticising It"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/2e87e78f0fb855096bcf5434e44c47d6","name":"Prateek Sharma","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44ed4cd22a315c3894d227dabd55be0e23524a42a33f9ff6bc3f6933aba09574?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44ed4cd22a315c3894d227dabd55be0e23524a42a33f9ff6bc3f6933aba09574?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/44ed4cd22a315c3894d227dabd55be0e23524a42a33f9ff6bc3f6933aba09574?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Prateek Sharma"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=396"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1582098243.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}