Harassment and stalking are scary. SRK played himself and as a crazy fan in FAN and in ZEE5’s Marathi web series Date with Saie, Saie is followed by a manic fan who is a filmmaker and obsessed with her. He shoots a film with her, secretly. Obsession has been a topic of interest in cinema for a long time now. Movies and shows have been known to give a glimpse into the idea of obsession and how it can impact people.

So, let’s take a glimpse into such shows and movie and see how they explore this dense topic.

Date With Saie (2018)

Starring Saie Tamhankar, Date With Saie is a ZEE5 Original following the twisted obsession of a wannabe filmmaker who secretly films Saie. She is unaware that her life events are being manipulated and is part of a film. Seeing Saie play herself in the series, and a glimpse into obsessive fan culture makes the show a unique and thrilling watch.

Fan (2017)
Fan shows the thin line between obsessive love and hate. SRK plays film star Aryan Khanna and his fan Gaurav Chandna in a double role. In a bid to impress his idol, we see Gaurav commit many crimes and expects gratitude from the star. But the opposite happens. This kickstarts a battle between the star and a fan where the lines of a good and bad blur.

Aamir (2008)
Aamir is a psychological crime thriller starring the talented Rajeev Khandelwal. The story revolves around Dr. Aamir Ali (Rajeev) who returns to Mumbai from the United Kingdom. The moment he lands in Mumbai, he starts getting blackmailed by an obsessive Islamic extremist. From the terrorist, Aamir learns that his family was kidnapped and the price of their release was going to be steep. What Aamir does from that moment forms the crux of the story.

Agni Sakshi (1996)
Featuring one of Nana Patekar’s best performances, Agni Sakshi is a thrill fest that follows a happily married couple Suraj and Shubangi Kapoor (Jackie and Manisha) who encounter a man Vishwanath (Nana) who claims that Shubangi is his wife Madhu. But the couple ignores his claim and this pushes a dangerously persuasive Vishwanath to prove that he is right, by hook or crook. As Vishwanath, Nana Patekar truly explores the dark character and its hot-headed obsessive traits with bone-chilling intensity.

These stories have a common thread of antisocial behavior growing into psychopathic extremes. Antisocial personality disorder, sociopathy, and psychopathy are all part of a spectrum. If this is the problem, what is the way forward as a society? Nowadays as more and more movies and web series focus on mental health issues which is the right step forward, But one question that arises is if movies reflect society, are we seeing more of mental health issues? Or is it the societal stress, overpopulation, struggle of daily living, the absence of family support adding up?

Some mental health issues show their clues in childhood and some raise their head later in life. Callous, absence of regard for others, unemotional, strange behavior in childhood and psychopathic traits in adult life go hand in hand. Timely help in childhood can save lives. But the problem is these traits often go unrecognized. It is important to know that the majority of prison inmates have some antisocial traits and psychopathy.

How to recognize antisocial personality trait and borderline Psychopathic behavior? Increasing studies have shown childhood to have clues to these problems. Parental awareness is needed to get timely treatment. As an adult, the difficulty increases manifold, especially if there is a tendency for violent and abusive behavior. Early intervention in children and adolescents will go a long way in preventing adult antisocial personality disorder.

How to identify children and  people with Antisocial Personality traits (DCM- IV):

Presence of three or more of the seven criteria since fifteen years of age

1)Failure to conform to social norms

2)Irresponsibility;

3) Deceitfulness

3) Indifference to the welfare of others

4) Recklessness

5) Failure to plan ahead

6)Irritability

7)Aggressiveness

Other Body language clues  to help you:

1)A person shows a profound lack of guilt, remorse, embarrassment and other pro-social behavior patterns in situations.

2)Distinct lack of empathy.

3)Conduct disorder

4)Unkindness bordering on cruelty towards animals. So hitting the cat or dog with stone is not a typical child’s play!

5)Lack of a moral compass.

6)High incidence of violent crimes.

7)Multiple substance abuse

8)The tendency of repeating the offence, even when it has a negative effect on self.

9)Violent behavior.

8)Abusive Behaviour.

10)An antisocial person always focuses on action benefitting him and does everything in his power to that end, even harming others.

11)Low tolerance for frustration

12)Proneness to blame others.

Four factors which will help identify psychopathic behaviour:

Interpersonal factor: This  superficial charm, grandiosity, pathological lying and manipulation

Affective factor: callousness, lack of remorse, shallowness, and failure to accept responsibility

Impulsive lifestyle factor: impulsivity, sensation seeking, and irresponsibility

Antisocial factor: general rule breaking.

Antisocial behavior is associated with psychopathy in some cases, but most psychopaths fit the criteria of being antisocial.

In Conclusion

It is the small details that matter in this case. So, keep an eye out but without being unnecessarily paranoid.

Disclaimer: This article is meant for public awareness and doesn’t claim completeness. Mental health is a serious matter and needs assessment and evaluation by a qualified Psychiatrist.Kindly read my full disclaimer.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored article but the content is entirely my own. Kindly read my full disclosure.