A poster of Ahir Bhairav

Guwahati, Sept. 2: After earning much acclaim as producer of Assamese movie on schizophrenia, Ahir Bhairav, London-based doctor Ranen Sarma has gone a step ahead to shoot a documentary on the real-life suffering of schizophrenic patients.

The 24-minute-long documentary, From England with Love: A Doctor’s Message Home, will be formally released by the end of this year and screened free of cost in different parts of the state, including educational institutions, in a bid to spread awareness among people about the disease and its treatment.

“During the past three years, Sarma has captured the real sufferings of schizophrenia patients in Assam. From the 150-hour-footage he shot, the relevant, best shots have been used to make the 24-minute documentary,” Pankaj Thakur, scriptwriter of the film Ahir Bhairav, said at a news conference here today.

International award-winning British filmmakers Martin Smith and Don Fairservice have helped in making the documentary. “Smith, the writer of the documentary, and Fairservice, editor, were attracted to the project because of the emphasis the film placed on the possibility of low-cost treatment for the patients,” Sarma said.

Schizophrenia is a form of mental illness where patients suffer from mixed-up thinking and emotions and a lack of normal emotional response. A schizophrenic person typically experiences social isolation as a result of these characteristics and drug therapy is often necessary to quell the devastating effect of the disease. The disease typically strikes its victims during their teens or twenties, and often leads to total disability.

Thakur said Sarma had shot the visuals to document the impact of “shared care” policy — a system of linking local general practitioners with psychiatrists to ensure effective and low-cost treatment. He said after Ahir Bhairav was released in 2008, 38 centres were set up across the state to offer “shared care” mental health treatment.

Ahir Bhairav, entirely shot in the UK, portrays a man’s struggle with his wife and daughter who suffer from schizophrenia. It is about an Indian family using Indian methods to deal with the impact of mental ill health while living in London.

Through the film, the filmmakers were trying to show how a serious mental disease was wrongly treated or kept a secret even by many educated Indians. The film was meant to send a message about the correct diagnosis and treatment of mental diseases.

The film was chosen by the British Film Institute, London, to be preserved in its world-renowned archive.