25 May Actor-Writer Aseem Tiwari on the Mental Health Revolution in India

BY SRILEKHA CHERUKUVADA

Though mental health has seen brief spotlights in the media in India, the true gems of mental health advocacy lie within the indie film industry. The industry has done a brilliant job of bringing mental health into the spotlight–notably, writer Aseem Tiwari has worked tirelessly to reduce the stigma around mental health in India. 

“My work in the realm of mental health is primarily writing about the issue, hence, creating awareness. As a mental health patient, I’m convinced normalizing the issue is half the solution,” Tiwari said. “My work starts with an American TV pilot called ‘Be Strong’, which is about people of color with mental health issues. The germ of this pilot came from my own experience of going through a massive panic attack that led me to living with my mom and having to address the elephant in the room.”

Tiwari had his own unique way of dealing with his anxiety with his mother; her fear of opening Pandora’s box prompted him to make jokes about it on a daily basis. However, Tiwari recognizes that his mother is not alone. When he had his first panic attack, he was in complete denial.

“I recall my friend offering to take me to the hospital but I asked him to get me peanut M&Ms and a coke because I thought it was low blood sugar,” Tiwari said. “The year that would follow led me to digging further into the issue and speaking to my POC friends about mental health and their responses were the same: this is a taboo issue in their families.” 

After writing “Be Strong,” Tiwari traveled to India to attend a film festival. While there, he developed a comedy called “Sobti Ki Khopdi,” which is about a middle-class Indian man with severe anxiety. 

“Having spent almost half my life in India, I knew it was time to talk about mental health in that country but it’s just too heavy for them so the issue must be approached through comedy. I hustled hard for a month and managed to pitch some legit producers and garner some interest for the show,” Tiwari said. “After a marathon of pitches where people didn’t get it or thought it was too soon for this show, one executive immediately took to it and offered me a development deal. This same executive called me when I was back in LA and offered me a feature film adaption from a best selling book called The Sane Psychopath.” 

At first, due to the dark nature of the project, Tiwari shielded away from it. The book the film is based on is a true crime set in Pune where a public bus driver has a meltdown and goes on a killing rampage with his bus. He kills 39 people and injures many more. 

“I was afraid that digging into this man’s mind would trigger my own mental health issues. But once the executive told me that I could focus on attacking the institution of mental health in India, I was in,” Tiwari said. “I absolutely loved the idea of weaving a story around a true crime with brand new elements, while making a bold statement about the state of the institution, overall.”

The feature film was supposed to start shooting in December, and “Sobti Ki Khopdi” in early 2021. However, the pandemic halted production on both. Tiwari also started writing a novel, My Constant Companion, which features a brown man with his mental illness as his constant companion. The book is expected to be finished by next year or so.

“Hopefully, my writing will end up having a true impact on the middle-class consumer of content in India,” Tiwari said. “Normalizing mental health for one person in India would be well worth the effort.”

Tiwari acknowledges the difference between access to mental health resources in India and the US, and hopes to convey that through his work in filmmaking. 

“My father is a middle-class man in Kanpur, UP and his access to resources, while improving fast, is quite different from the privilege I get to enjoy in LA,” Tiwari said. “All I’m saying is, if my 72-year-old father in small-town India can finally acknowledge mental health, so can the rest of India.”

With the current situation in India with COVID-19, mental health support is more crucial now than ever. During this national crisis, deaths have even gone uncounted. Grief and loss can take huge tolls on mental health, and supporting the country in any way possible will significantly help people there in every capacity. For more mental health resources, click here.

Without awareness and efforts to reduce the stigma around mental illness, we simply cannot have a healthy society. The more we keep this issue in the dark, the more the numbers will continue to grow– the suicides, the illnesses, the number of people in pain every day. Films can have a tremendous impact on cultures and the way we perceive society. Aseem Tiwari is a prime example of using the film industry for social justice and ameliorating mental health stigmas. It’s time to step up and make a difference through videography, and every other channel we have in the media; not just in India, but also across the world.

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Srilekha Cherukuvada is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. She has multiple bylines in Business Insider, Urban Asian, The Tempest, Redefy, and more. Srilekha also founded a nonprofit organization, Plannr Consulting, focused on spreading mental health awareness. To learn more about Srilekha, visit simplysrilekha.com or connect with her on Twitter & Instagram @srileeka.