Antarleena (2015)

Antarleena, also known as Engrossed Within Oneself in English, is a 2015 socio-psychological film, directed by Manas Sahoo, produced by Alina Samal and written by Sarojini Pattayat.^[1] The film stars Soumyaranjan in the lead role, with Bijay Mohanty, Lipsa Bhawani, Dharitri, Ansuman Aurobharat, Subham, Sai in supporting roles. The story is based on the biography of an autistic savant child, who is not easily accepted by society, but goes on to become a great writer and philosopher.^[2]

Antarleena has received positive reviews in various forms of media, not only because of its sensitive subject, but also because it is one of the first films of its kind in Odia.^[2] Few films worldwide have a story fully centering around an autistic child and his development, but Antarleena is one of them.^[1]

Plot

Chintan Das, fondly called Chinu (Soumyaranjan), is a very popular writer and philosopher. As a child, he was staying with his grandfather (Bijaya Mohanty), the only surviving family member who is unable to understand the reason for the restlessness and hyper activeness of Chinu. He takes him to a doctor who reveals to him that Chinu has autism. Lack of awareness about autism makes him think that his grandchild is mad. However, when the doctor briefs him about autism he gathers information from different sources to understand what autism is all about and correlates them with his grandson. Still, he continues all efforts to make Chinu behave normally. Unable to accept and face the reality of his grandson’s condition, he soon succumbs. Pihu, a lovely little girl who goes on to become Chinu’s one and only friend, leaves the city, making Chinu even more lonely. Renuka, the principal of an autistic center, sees Chinu and being in the profession, immediately understands his condition and takes him into her care. She provides him the necessary occupational therapy along with her own motherly love and care. He begins pouring out his thoughts and feelings and goes on to become a famous writer and philosopher. In the meantime, Pihu, being influenced by the peculiar behavior of Chinu, goes on to become a research scholar in sociology. She comes to know that writer Chintan Das is none other than her childhood friend Chinu. She goes on to meet him and they together visit a few places and relive their childhood memories. In the process, Pihu tries to use her academic and research knowledge in sociology and trains Chinu to behave like a normal person and socialize with others. But this negatively impacts Chinu, and he returns to his own world and gets engrossed within himself.^[3]

Cast

• Soumyaranjan as Chintan Das (Chinu)
• Auro Varat as Elder Chinu (14 years old)
• Anshuman (Bapu) as Young Chinu
• Bijaya Mohanty as Sunil Das (grandfather of Chinu)
• Lipsa Mishra as Adyasha (Pihu)
• Adya Utkalika (Lity) as Young Pihu
• Dharitri Khandual as Renuka (principal of the autistic school)
• Bhabani Prasad as Udaya
• Sushant Mishra as Sunil’s friend
• Minati Roy as Pihu’s grandmother
• Kabi Das as Kabi Uncle
• Upendra Nayak as Yoga Teacher
• Alok Kundu as Therapy Teacher
• Rainy as Principal
• V. Jyoti as Class Teacher
• Subham as Chinu (3 years old)
• Jyoti Ratan as Anchor
• Anshuman Pratapshing as Courier Boy
• Iti as Pihu’s friend

Casting

As the central character is a very important role, and its portraying actor needs to depict the character's personality through other means besides just dialogue, it was challenging to find a child actor that fit this criteria. After choosing Auro Bharat, and Soumya Das for the role of the grown up Chintan Das, they were taken to the school for autistic children to let them see and understand the real body language and behavior of people with autism. They had to undergo a good amount of training to perfect their depiction of the neurological disorder.^[4]

Development

It was the time when film director Manas Sahoo was contemplating to do a film on a broader subject of mentally retarded person that he and his producer, Alina Samal, came across something unexpected. One late night, they heard an odd sound, but could not decipher what it was. When they set out to explore the source of it, they realized that it was their house owner’s daughter’s speaking and moaning. On enquiry, the house owner told that their daughter has autism. The couple, until that moment, did not know what autism was. After taking the details of the problem from the house owner, they decided to take up this subject as the concept for their next film, which they felt was the best way to create awareness about the lesser known, unexplored problem of it presents to society. Together they set out on the mission of understanding the complexities of the problem and its realities at the ground level. Manas Sahoo read books on the subject of autism and met with people in the medical field who have handled and rehabilitated people with autism to not only get firsthand knowledge, but thoroughly understand the unique disorder's problems. Sahoo even visited schools made specifically for autistic children to closely study their activities, behavior, lifestyle and body language. In this journey of realization, Gautam Panda, an autistic savant child, became the inspiration and main character of their concept, in which the story and accompanying script took form.^[5]

Characters

Chintan Das (Chinu) – The central character, who is based on a real person with similar conditions. Due to the specific focus on autism, the body language and expressions are the character's focal point.

Chinu's Grandfather – A matured person with a heart full of love for his grandson. However, lack of awareness and understanding about his grandson’s problem leaves him feeling baffled and helpless. Unable to share his feelings with his grandson, who cannot understand them, he records his feelings with a hope that when Chinu grows up, he will be able to comprehend them.

Renuka, Principal of an autistic center – As a professional in the field of autism, she understands Chinu's special needs and gives the necessary support, guidance and rehabilitation to him with a combination of her motherly love and affection.

Pihu, both the young and the grown up, is the only friend in the whole of Chinu’s life through whom he sees the world. Chinu has a great influence in Pihu’s life which also motivates her to do PhD in human behavior and sociology. Caretaker, a soft and gentle person who understands clearly the need of Chinu and strongly stands by his side, while taking care of Chinu to make him feel comfortable.

References

External links

• Antarleena Official Trailer