Everyday or the other when I go through the newspaper there is atleast 1 case of suicide. Whether a teenage has failed to clear his/her board exams or be it love issues people happily kill themselves because they think that is the end of the world.
Recently a Bengali film was released based on this very idea. The film is named as Hemlock Society. In this film the story involves round a girl named Meghna whose perfect life suddenly collapsed like a pack of cards. She never used to love her father.Her father had remarried after the demise of his first wife and thus the girl refused to stay with them and shifted instead to an apartment with her boyfriend.
Meghna knew her boyfriend for the past 14 years and they were about to get married very shortly. It was just a week before their marriage that Meghna discovered her boyfriend in a music concert , kissing some other girl. Unable to bear that she rushes out alone in the street while her boyfriend came running from behind to provide the meaningless explanations. He finally declares that there was nothing left in their relationship and that they hardly have anything to say to each other.Just like many other not so brave boyfriend he confides that he wanted to tell her these things but somehow he couldnt.
Meghna was shattered. She kept on crying . In a desperation she thought of ending her life. She approached her father who was a doctor and asked to prescribe some sleeping pills. As she approached the chemist , the hero of the movie saw her and knew that she would soon commit suicide. Back to her apartment Meghna was completly drunk and just as she was about to take those pills when the hero enters and stops her from doing so.. Well like every movie this was expected.
The story takes a different turn when the hero said that he runs an organisation called Hemlock Society where people are trained physically,mentally and technically how to commit suicide. As with most sleeping pills or cutting the wrist may not lead to the death hence they ensure that every step is carried out with perfection so that the people can die perfectly.
He takes her to the organisation. No matter his style of speaking, attitude and behaviour all lead to Meghna's liking for him.
In the organisation there were different teachers who would teach them various methods of suicide like cutting the wrist, hanging,shooting,jumping in front of train etc. And at the end of every class students would be given an exercise to know each other's plan of committing suicide and trying to find out the flaw in that. It was a total of 3 days workshop.
As the workshop started and teachers started demonstrating the methods , many students fainted, some puked and others shrieked. And after the classes when Meghna went for the exercise and asked other people their reason to commit suicide , she came to know that her problems are far less than most of them.
In one of such exercise she met a retired colonel who said that "Suicide is a crime which one commits to those whom he leaves behind". He just asked her that when u want to look at the rainbow do u need a boyfriend? When u want to go carry out your day to day activities do u need a boyfriend for that? Meghna was angry and answered curtly "NO". To this the man said "I need a person every time to do everything which I want to or I wish to." The man was actually paralysed and was moving in a wheelchair.
At the end of the workshop Meghna decided to change her mind. As she went to say these to the hero , he rebuked her for being whimsical. When Meghna finally said that she loves him he told the truth behind all the stories. He was a millionaire who had been suddenly diagnosed with Blood cancer and would hardly survive a couple of years more. He started a film city and within that he used to run these kind of "pro life workshop" in disguise of "assisted suicide workshop" .
It is by this workshop people are shown death more closely and are made realised that they are somewhat better than many other persons. He used to flirt around girls so that they again learn to fall in love. The teachers were all paid actors working for his "negative therapy".
Slowly Meghna made her way back to her parents house and started to take problems easily.
The film clearly depicted that suicide was never solution to any problem and it can never be. It is just that we are consoling ourselves by running away from it. I always used to wonder what if a student has failed in the board exam. Will he not be able to make it the second time. By ending his life and leaving his parents in shock is he doing justice? What if a relationship breaks up? Arent we matured enough to live the life we want and probably get someone more desiring? What solution will it bring if we end up our lives? Tensions are present everywhere be it in our home, personal or professional life. But in order to solve them we need to face them . How can we do that if we cease to exist? And what about those whom we are leaving behind?Are we doing justice to them.
Such thoughts can never be made understood by just saying. There only this "negative therapy" comes to play. And since our generation is mostly insecured and constantly needs some kind of appreciation to live or to perform the "negative therapy" is becoming more a requirement.
Recently a Bengali film was released based on this very idea. The film is named as Hemlock Society. In this film the story involves round a girl named Meghna whose perfect life suddenly collapsed like a pack of cards. She never used to love her father.Her father had remarried after the demise of his first wife and thus the girl refused to stay with them and shifted instead to an apartment with her boyfriend.
Meghna knew her boyfriend for the past 14 years and they were about to get married very shortly. It was just a week before their marriage that Meghna discovered her boyfriend in a music concert , kissing some other girl. Unable to bear that she rushes out alone in the street while her boyfriend came running from behind to provide the meaningless explanations. He finally declares that there was nothing left in their relationship and that they hardly have anything to say to each other.Just like many other not so brave boyfriend he confides that he wanted to tell her these things but somehow he couldnt.
Meghna was shattered. She kept on crying . In a desperation she thought of ending her life. She approached her father who was a doctor and asked to prescribe some sleeping pills. As she approached the chemist , the hero of the movie saw her and knew that she would soon commit suicide. Back to her apartment Meghna was completly drunk and just as she was about to take those pills when the hero enters and stops her from doing so.. Well like every movie this was expected.
The story takes a different turn when the hero said that he runs an organisation called Hemlock Society where people are trained physically,mentally and technically how to commit suicide. As with most sleeping pills or cutting the wrist may not lead to the death hence they ensure that every step is carried out with perfection so that the people can die perfectly.
He takes her to the organisation. No matter his style of speaking, attitude and behaviour all lead to Meghna's liking for him.
In the organisation there were different teachers who would teach them various methods of suicide like cutting the wrist, hanging,shooting,jumping in front of train etc. And at the end of every class students would be given an exercise to know each other's plan of committing suicide and trying to find out the flaw in that. It was a total of 3 days workshop.
As the workshop started and teachers started demonstrating the methods , many students fainted, some puked and others shrieked. And after the classes when Meghna went for the exercise and asked other people their reason to commit suicide , she came to know that her problems are far less than most of them.
In one of such exercise she met a retired colonel who said that "Suicide is a crime which one commits to those whom he leaves behind". He just asked her that when u want to look at the rainbow do u need a boyfriend? When u want to go carry out your day to day activities do u need a boyfriend for that? Meghna was angry and answered curtly "NO". To this the man said "I need a person every time to do everything which I want to or I wish to." The man was actually paralysed and was moving in a wheelchair.
At the end of the workshop Meghna decided to change her mind. As she went to say these to the hero , he rebuked her for being whimsical. When Meghna finally said that she loves him he told the truth behind all the stories. He was a millionaire who had been suddenly diagnosed with Blood cancer and would hardly survive a couple of years more. He started a film city and within that he used to run these kind of "pro life workshop" in disguise of "assisted suicide workshop" .
It is by this workshop people are shown death more closely and are made realised that they are somewhat better than many other persons. He used to flirt around girls so that they again learn to fall in love. The teachers were all paid actors working for his "negative therapy".
Slowly Meghna made her way back to her parents house and started to take problems easily.
The film clearly depicted that suicide was never solution to any problem and it can never be. It is just that we are consoling ourselves by running away from it. I always used to wonder what if a student has failed in the board exam. Will he not be able to make it the second time. By ending his life and leaving his parents in shock is he doing justice? What if a relationship breaks up? Arent we matured enough to live the life we want and probably get someone more desiring? What solution will it bring if we end up our lives? Tensions are present everywhere be it in our home, personal or professional life. But in order to solve them we need to face them . How can we do that if we cease to exist? And what about those whom we are leaving behind?Are we doing justice to them.
Such thoughts can never be made understood by just saying. There only this "negative therapy" comes to play. And since our generation is mostly insecured and constantly needs some kind of appreciation to live or to perform the "negative therapy" is becoming more a requirement.
thank you.. this was a great review of a movie, and you have tied it very well to an issue which is truly germane in today's world!
ReplyDeleteI didn't watch this movie yet, and am planning to.. and a brilliant concept so brilliantly put forward by you.. loved it. thanks. :)
ReplyDelete