''Apna Asmaan'' (transl. ''Our sky'') is a

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Kaushik Roy, and stars

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...

Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...

and Dhruv Piyush Panjuani in pivotal roles, with

Rajat Kapoor Rajat Kapoor (born 11 February 1961) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Kapoor was born in Delhi, India. He mainly focused on acting at first. In 2013 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi, later mov ...

and Anupam Kher in important supporting roles. Khan plays the protagonist, an "

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

" who is discontented with a failing marriage and an autistic son Buddhi played by Dhruv Panjuani. He is constantly blamed by his wife Padmini, played by Shobana, for their son's condition. After meeting a scientist Dr. Sathya, played by Anupam Kher, Ravi obtains a drug which cures mental disorders from him and injects Buddhi, leading him to become intelligent. However, in the process, Buddhi starts to forget his parents and friends, leading to uncontrollable tragic events. The film was originally planned in 1999 by director Kaushik Roy, who conceptualised the idea from his own child Orko. According to the former, the film deals with

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

, an issue which is foreseen as a taboo in Indian society. The film made its theatrical debut in India on 7 September 2007, with international premieres held at ReelWorld Film Festival in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, San Luis Cine Festival and Stuttgart Film Festival in 2008. The film received several accolades in various film festivals. ''Apna Asmaan'' received mixed reviews from critics, who debated the direction and story, but praised the acting, themes and messages about the parents' over-ambitious dreams inherited to their children. It was cited as one of the most-talked films of 2007, which established the film as

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

rather than a commercial film.

Story

Ravi Kumar is a plastic salesman working for Opel Plastics who is enduring a failing marriage. He has a son Buddhi, who is autistic and a slow learner. Because of Buddhi, Ravi and his wife Padmini shares a resented relationship, where she blames Ravi for Buddhi's intellectual handicap. One day, Ravi watches an interview of a scientist Dr. Sathya, who invented a controversial drug called " brain booster" which can cure mental problems. He comes with a notion to meet Sathya and get the medicine from him. After meeting with Sathya; he gets the medicine and reluctantly injects in Buddhi, which grants him intellectual strength. However, the drug has a side-effect,

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

in which he starts to forget his parents and relatives. Thereafter, Buddhi changes his lifestyle and turns out to be extremely popular among his classmates. Despite Buddhi's arrogant and unruly behaviour, his parents are happy to see that he is normal. But, on the other hand, Ravi learns that Sathya has connections in underworld drug cartel, and he is now wanted by police. After winning a mathematics

quiz show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...

, Buddhi is given the title of "Aryabhatta"; and becomes popular in media and receives fame as a "mathe-magician" celebrity. After "Aryabhatta" indulges in several kinds of vices, his parents learns that Buddhi's limbic brain has been damaged, where their family doctor Dr. Sen concludes that limbic brain dysfunction leads to negative and anti social personality. In order to stop "Aryabhatta", Ravi and Padmini seeks help of Dr. Sen to find out Dr. Sathya for

antidote An antidote is a substance that can counteract a form of poisoning. The term ultimately derives from the Greek term φάρμακον ἀντίδοτον ''(pharmakon) antidoton'', "(medicine) given as a remedy". Antidotes for anticoagulants are s ...

. Dr. Sen, Ravi and Padmini tracks down Sathya, who was hiding in an old-age home. Ravi and Padmini retrieve the antidote from him, and Sathya apologises the couple for destroying Buddhi's life. One night, In an attempt to inject the antidote in "Aryabhatta", he starts to threat and attacks Ravi with the same injection. In order to save Ravi from "Aryabhatta", Padmini attacks him and injects him with the medicine, thus calming the latter. The next day, Buddhi returns to his normal self and begins to paint again. His paintings are now exhibited by his parents; thus accepting his talent.

Cast

as Ravi Kumar *

as Padmini Kumar * Anupam Kher as Dr. Sathya *

as Dr. Sen *Dhruv Piyush Panjuani as Buddhi Kumar "Aryabhatta". *Utkarsha Naik as Mrs. Sharma * Nassar Abdullah as Mr. Sharma *Barkha Singh as Pinky Sharma

Production

Development

Director Kaushik Roy conceptualised the idea in 1999 from his own son Orko. He stated that the film has message for parents who has over-ambitious dreams.

Music

The music of the film is composed by Lesle Lewis and lyrics written by Mehboob.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=1073097 2000s Hindi-language films 2007 films Films scored by Lesle Lewis 2007 drama films Indian drama films Films about dissociative identity disorder Films shot in Mumbai Films about drugs Films about autism Hindi-language drama films