The Feel Good Factor

Psychiatrist and actor Mohan Agashe recommends a cinematic diet for a healthy state of mind.

Nearly 25 years ago, a young medical graduate, Mohan Agashe, tried his hands at a little lab experiment, a project he and his fellow doctors decided to work upon by roping in schools across Pune. It was on learning disabilities and dyslexia, something Agashe knew first-hand as he too struggled with it in his early years. "We wanted to talk about it and create awareness among children and teachers, but not a single school came on board," narrated Agashe. Twenty years down the line, Aamir Khan's Taare Zameen Par hit the theatres. It was on learning disabilities. "The same schools across Pune called up to know more, inviting me to talk about it with their students and staff. What I couldn't achieve in 20 years, a film did it in one day. That's the impact cinema has on our lives, on our psyche," said the doctor as he took the dais at the Law Auditorium, Panjab University on Tuesday afternoon.

A psychiatrist by profession, actor by passion and recipient of the Padma Shri, he was in Chandigarh to deliver the Panjab University Colloquium lecture on the theme, "Cinematic Diet for Health". "An attempt to perform the painful surgery of education and attitudes under the anesthesia of entertainment based on the premise that a combination of health and cinema is quite the perfect prescription for both the mind and body," said Agashe, as he peppered his talk with witty insights, light-hearted humour and moving examples. "Cinema is the language of image and sound, of emotional connect and experience. It is relevant because it is a huge part of our culture, and to diagnose and treat mental illnesses, or any illness, culture and background play a significant role," he added.

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