Some years ago, I had met Malini
at the bookstore. I was more fascinated by her independence specially when she
communicated using her ipad with a voice. She seemed quite intelligent although
she had difficulty in controlling her stiff limbs.
Malini suffers from cerebral
palsy characterized by an abnormal muscle tone, reflexes or motor development
and coordination. The classical symptoms are spasms, other involuntary
movements (eg. Facial gestures), unsteady gait, problems with balance. The body
refuses to obey the mind and it is difficult to even reach for a drink without
spilling it.
The new Bollywood film ‘Margarita
with a Straw’ is inspired by Malini but focuses more on the intelligence and
the emotions of a teenager.
Kalki who plays the wheelchair
bound spastic person, has done a brilliant acting of living in a trapped body,
dealing with her sexual urges through masturbation, love affairs and
disappointments.
I was however surprised to see
the reaction of people who saw the film. There was certain kind of discomfort
and embarrassment, as if handicap people are not supposed to have such
emotions. I am not sure if handicap people are too sex starved that they will
indulge with every person (man or woman) who shows affection to them,(the
impression that some people get while watching this film) but even if they do,
it cannot be used as yardstick for judging other handicapped people.
Many films have been made on
spastic people.
In 2012 Spandan, a Marathi film with English sub titles by
Vegitha Reddy and Aman Tripathi, focuses on the frustration of parents of
spastic child, who have to deal with the stigma associated with this condition.
In 1989, My Left Foot, a drama
film by Jim Sheridan tells the real life story of Christy Brown, an Irishman born with
cerebral palsy, who could control only his left foot. He grew up in poor working
class family but became a writer and painter.
1972, documentary film Goodbye CP
by Kazoa Hara is another heart wrenching film on CP that makes you hate God for
creating so much suffering. It focuses on how these people are ignored and
disregarded in Japan. In one part of the film, the other men in the group tell
about how and when they first had sex and what problem having CP has played in
their lives.
From time to time, films are made
on Special Persons who are differently abled to bring home the awareness that
such problems exists and compassion is necessary to help them live as normal as
possible without making too much fuss about it.
