When B. Sandeep and his friends started the ground work for ‘The Walking Mind,’ a docudrama on those affected by brittle bone disease, the first thing that they did was to meet the many who had the disease and ask them what they would wish for if God actually came down and asked them.
“Contrary to what we expected, they did not wish anything for themselves. Their biggest wishes were not to walk or run, but the well-being of their parents or those close to them. Some others wanted support systems for people like them. They have learned to live with their reality, but it is we who are to learn to accept them as they are,” says Mr. Sandeep, who scripted the docudrama.
The crew started off with ideas of making a documentary, and travelled the length and breadth of Kerala to meet the affected people.
“There was no planning as in a conventional documentary. The form of our work evolved constantly during the period we went around meeting them. Even the entire crew was not selected in the beginning. All of them joined us at various phases of the project, after taking interest in what we were trying to say,” he says.
The crew brought down those affected by the disease from various parts of the State to Thiruvananthapuram, and conducted a public gathering for them earlier this week, which was also filmed as part of the documentary.
Outer world“One of the major problems that they face is that they do not have interactions with the outside world, even though they meet among themselves. So their talents remain within that closed group. There are good writers and artists among them, but without proper nurturing and support, these remain dormant. With the kind of avenues available now, they can actually make a mark, if they are properly guided. That is one help we can do for them, and this docudrama is an attempt in that direction. It tries to highlight the positives in their life, rather than being a document on their disabilities,” says Mr. Sandeep.
