Karthik Calling Karthik (2010)
Director: Vijay Lalwani; Writer: Vijay Lalwani; Producer: Farhan Akhtar, Amit Chandrra, Miriam Joseph, Vijay Lalwani, Stuti Ramachandra, Ritesh Sidhwani; Cinematographer: Sanu John Varughese; Editor: Aarti Bajaj; Cast: Siddhartha Gupta, Swapnel Desai, Farhan Akhtar, Vipin Sharma, Kanchan Pagare, Ram Kapoor, Haansaa, Vivan Bhatena, Deepika Padukone, Abhay Joshi, Prachi, Zafar, Shefali Shah, Brijendra Kala, Khyati Kanchan, Vijay Badlani, Taraana Raja, Vinay Jain, Deepak Ramachandra, Vinod Goswami, Salim Patni, Akashdeep, Akshat Trivedi, Vidyadhar Karmakar, Tikaram Dhakal, Taha, Irshad, Jagdish Kansara, Arshad Sheikhlal Pathan, Uma Rane, Athar Nawaz, Chinmay, A.R. Manikandan, Kavita, Anand Kumar Ekbote, Yatin Karyekar
Duration: 02:14:44; Aspect Ratio: 2.353:1; Hue: 128.394; Saturation: 0.045; Lightness: 0.249; Volume: 0.162; Cuts per Minute: 16.497
Flashback and psychiatrist Dr. Kapadia
Depression - obsessively playing with the Rubik's cube, contemplating suicide and popping pills. Interrupted by the phone call.
The phone-Karthik calls real-Karthik and details his life woes. Real-Karthik breaks down and promises to turn everything around.
Phone-Karthik tells real-Karthik to never tell anyone about their conversations otherwise he would be thought mad.
Shonali suggests that Karthik see a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist Dr. Kapadia in her counselling session with Karthik, diagnoses him with schizophrenia.
Phone-Karthik speaks to and threatens Dr. Kapadia.
The song 'Kaisi Hai Yeh Udasee Chhai' is about depression and loneliness.
Dr. Kapadia explains to Shonali that Karthik is schizophrenic and possibly suffering from multiple mental disorders; she points out the clue that led her to solve the mystery of the phone calls - Karthik never had a brother so his stories about accidentally causing his death were made up in his mind. Her expository voiceover is set to a sequence intercutting between flashbacks and flashforwards as Shonali attempts to find him.
Karthik attempts suicide as Shonali rushes to save him, set to a song about schizophrenia: 'Tum Ho Bas Mere'.
masculinity
mental health
psychiatry
schizophrenia
Shonali reading a book on schizophrenia and Dr. Kapadia phoning Karthik on his birthday presents the full circle/stark contrast to the earlier threatening phone calls on his birthday and his utter isolation. The possibility of care and romantic love being supplements to medical treatment is depicted, as against the traditional representations of mental health in Bombay films.
thriller
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