Aditya K H insists we put a disclaimer, ‘trigger warning’, when we write this article. It was in the middle of the conversation when he said this and it did make a lot of sense to do so.
Aditya, who has written and directed Anbu Dhaney Ellamey, speaks to us about how this play on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) was conceptualised and why he felt the need to stage it with three characters — A, G, and L. “I was diagnosed with anxiety and mild depression about two years ago, when I was in a high pressure advertising job. I didn’t know it was anxiety, and I put it off. But then, when I did walk myself into a psychiatrist’s office, they gave me medicines and I went to therapy.
After Aditya’s treatment was over, he took a personal interest in the topic, and wanted to write about BPD. “I wrote the play last year in November, and realised that a lot of people around me were suffering from BPD, but in silence, because there’s so much stigma, and a lot of myths that require being broken,” Aditya says, adding, “BPD is like diabetes, you first need to know that you have it. And even if you do get diagnosed, the fact that you’re going to get the diagnosis itself is a big deal, which means there’s a lot of stigma attached to it!”
Aditya’s idea was to make BPD as easy a topic to discuss as any other illness. “This is my passion project,” he says, and we understand why as he explains. The script for Anbu Dhaney Ellamey has taken shape with the help of many mental health professionals. “I’ve also taken help from a group that meets every month to help each other tackle issues related to mental health. They help people with BPD, because like I mentioned earlier, it’s not something easily diagnosed. If someone has an anxiety attack, you can tell it’s a panic attack. But most of the time, what happens is BPD gets misdiagnosed as depression or anxiety, and people are given different drugs that just wrecks havoc in their lives,” he shares, adding, “I conceptualised this play because I felt we need to write something about mental health, but make it commercial and at the same time hard-hitting; find the right balance between making it relatable, but also making it easy to digest as content.”
Anbu Dhaney Ellamey is about one person’s journey inwards on one night. There are several different triggers that happen throughout the play, and the plot delves into how she deals with them and her emotions — two very primary emotions — with an interesting twist that the audience will get to know halfway through the play. The one hour and 10 minute-long play ends on a note that says anbu dhaney ellamey.
“Mental health is something I feel very strongly about. It is also something I thought I was not struggling with until I realised that I was actually struggling,” Sagarika Ganeshyam’s Instagram post read, as she announced playing the character G in Anbu Dhaney Ellamey. She continues, “I strongly believe that unconditional love and empathy makes battles with mental health a bit easier for the ones fighting it because end of the day, anbu dhaane ellamey… and like Coldplay sings, Lights will guide you home, we hope they also guide you straight to watch our play…”
The play is written in Tamlish — an everyday common mix of Tamil and English. L is played by Paavana Mohan, a prominent make-up artist in the city; G is played by Sagarika Ganeshyam, well-known dancer, choreographer and fitness instructor; and A is played by S Aishwarya, a lawyer, who has also been pursuing theatre for a while.
Tickets at Rs 499.October 7, 7 pm.
At Medai – The Stage, Alwarpet.
Email: rupam@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @rupsjain