Take care of your child's mental health: 'Posham Pa' actresses

MUMBAI: The upcoming psychological thriller "Posham Pa" revolves around three serial killers and is inspired by real-life incidents. The filmn's three leading ladies e Mahie Gill, Sayani Gupta and Ranigi Khanna -- said the right upbringing and taking care of mental health can resolve a lot of criminal activity, because crime is often an outcome of mental imbalance.

"I strongly believe we can eradicate a lot of criminal activity if we take care of mental health from childhood. It is very important to have mental health awareness so that we can cure problems instead of putting criminals and patients of mental illness behind bars in mental homes," Sayani told IANS, adding: "I think we should look at crime from the aspect of mental health. Every behaviour comes from the experiences we have in life and I strongly believe our upbringing shapes our behaviour."

Sayani plays a serial killer who suffers from schizophrenia.

"There are many such mental health conditions that can be medically treated, but the problem is we just put them behind us, in dark rooms. That won't resolve the problem," said Sayani.

Being the mother of a three-year-old girl, Mahie said: "My character had a dark past and she has translated that negativity onto her two daughters to become serial killers. I know this for a fact that a child gets introduced to love as well as violence by their parents first. Violence is the last stage. If you make a child understand how love can solve things and that violence only begets more violence, kids will understand. Aggressive behaviour should be discouraged from the beginning."

Ragini, who also plays a psychopath in the film, pointed out the importance of right kind of upbringing and mentioned: "Children have all kind of emotions and when those emotions are raw, it is important to observe and listen to them so that we can correct their behaviour."

" My mother listened to me carefully and she had extreme patience. She would talk to me with logic to explain why it is wrong if it is. Children are attached to their mother. She plays an important role in shaping their personality," she added.

Directed by Suman Mukhopadhyay the film features Shivani Raghuvanshi and Imaad Shah, and will release on Wednesday on the OTT platform ZEE5.

The film shows a very dark side of life, and involves rape, serial killing and child abuse. Was working in such a project an eye-opener?

"Honestly, I am well aware of what happens around us. I think humanity has gone beyond redemption, considering there is so much violence and unthinkable atrocities. So, as an individual, I was aware of reality," Sayani said.

Ragini added: "When I was representing my character in the film, I was not judging her because her actions came from a reality that differs from mine, but that does not mean I disregard her reality. She is born with a condition and becomes a psychopath. Her mother trains her mind to become a serial killer and, of course, poverty is a reason, too."

Mahie plays a mother who trains her daughter to become a serial killer. She said that parents should not victimise children because of the bitter experiences they have had in life. "That way, you are ruining the next generation, because of your bad experience in life. Children shouldn't be your channel to release frustration or your weapon to take revenge against society that was unjust to you," she said.

Sayani agreed: "In our country, we never talk about mental health and we do not care enough of child psychology. If we do not take care of our children's minds, and introduce them to violence at an impressionable age, we tend to create criminals out of them."

"Parenting is (about) nurturing healthy minds that (can) build a progressive society for future," Mahie concluded.