Films often tend to glamourise and oversimplify illnesses and challenges of the disabled; sensitive representations being few and far between. Filmmaker R. Sarath hopes his movie, Swayam , will fall in the latter.
The film, he says, has a powerful message for society – “that people with autism need huge levels of support and so do their often overlooked and forgotten families.”
The inspiration for the movie, he says, was from an incident at an airport. While waiting to board a flight, he saw a mother having a mini-meltdown while trying to coax her autistic child to board a flight as the father looked on detachedly. “When he saw his mother break into sobs, the boy agreed resignedly to board the flight. Once on the flight, he was okay. I spoke to his mom and she told me he was autistic.”
Curious about autism, Sarath decided to research on the subject. “I talked to various parents, visited schools that taught autistic children, read a lot on the subject... There is a difference in the way the kids are treated here and in other countries. In other parts of the world, they are not isolated. They follow a system where autistic children are trained and educated with regular kids and their talents unearthed. There’s a stigma attached to autistic children here. They are often seen as violent and unpredictable with little hope of being able to integrate into society. I also discovered that men could not cope with their autistic child. They would either leave their family or adopt an indifferent attitude towards the wife and child.”
An Indo-German project, Swayam zooms into the life of Meron, the autistic son of software engineer parents settled in Germany.
While the mother accepts her son and his challenges, the father seeks avoidance. Laksmipriya Menon plays Agnes, the mother in the film. Maron is played by 11-year-old Nimay Pillai. Discovering her son is talented in football, Agnes encourages him to pursue it. “Autistic children usually possess hidden talent. While for some it’s music, for others it’s science, mathematics, art….For Maron, it’s football.” When an injury causes him to stop, a journey of self discovery begins for both mother and son as they come to Kerala for Ayurveda treatment. Former German Bunesliga player and Portuguese national player Roberto Pinto plays Nimay’s coach in the movie.
Says Nimay, an ardent footballer himself: “I didn’t know Roberto Pinto was a football legend when I first saw him. It was fun shooting with him. He gave me tips on how to improve myself on the field.”
The filmmaker is known for his films that focus on social issues, be it Sayahnam that was centred on the environmental and nuclear issues or Parudeesa that revolved around religious beliefs. He says he hopes to change the views people have towards autistic people through his film. And although there is focus on autism in the movie, the mother is also the centre of attention. It highlights her strength and support for her son. Swayam , produced by Vinod Balakrishnan under the banner of Green Haven Productions, will hit theatres post Onam. The movie also stars Madhu and Nandu.
