“I AM GOOD” Movie Review: Breaking Stereotypes and Discovering Self-worth

I am good, repeat after me, I am good. I am worthy, I am enough and I believe therefore I AM. How hard it is for all of us to soothe ourselves with such simple words of positivity?

We often criticize ourselves when we talk to that inner person residing inside us, we complain, we crib, and blame ourselves for so many things that go wrong in our life. But do we ever praise ourselves for the things we did? 

No, praising self is not being selfish, it is recognizing your self-worth, there is a thin line between being snobbishly selfish and being too harsh on self. When we are being harsh on ourselves for not able to do the right things, we must also praise ourselves for doing things that worked well.

I am good, a short movie review

I am good, a short movie about a girl suffering from bipolar disorder directed by Raja Ram Mukerji has won several awards at international film festivals across the globe. To bring about a positive change in our society we need more and more films like this. I am good is a 30-minute movie that covers almost all the aspects of a critical mental disorder like bipolar.

The movie successfully tries to share the symptoms, possible causes, and treatment options for the disorder.  Mental Health Awareness is the need of the hour, rather we are too late to talk about it because no one wants to talk about it. Bipolar disorder is a very unfortunate state of mind people get stuck in and this movie not only talks about bipolar but also tries to plant a seed of hope in the minds of the viewers that there is a road towards the end of the tunnel that would take you to your desired destination, all you need to do is co-operate and work together with your therapist when you need clinical help.

I am Good (main acchi hoon) released by The Short Cuts, produced by Nishant Pitti and Raj Suri and it stars actors Ambika Soni, Shruti Sharma, Indraneel Bhattacharya, and Anuradha Rajyadhyaksh. The film is available at Disney Hotstar by the name, ” Main Achhi Hoon”.

Background:

A young girl named Aditi is struggling to understand her life. She is fighting two fights, one with herself and the other one with societal expectations. Coming from a family where she is the only child and her parents can barely afford basic necessities like food, shelter, and her school fees, her state of mind and getting her treated was out of the question until the day her father comes across a psychologist who is not only passionate about her work but is too kind to give all the attention and time to the young girl Aditi.

While counseling Aditi, she understands that this young girl has been bullied in school at a young age and has been a victim of lower self-esteem all her life. Her devastated parents are concerned but not in a position to understand what’s so wrong with her and are always worried about her future.

The doctor asks her, how do you feel about yourself and she says, worthless and pathetic, and this is where the phrase/affirmation ‘I Am Good’ gets introduced to Aditi by her doctor. When you are reading this, you might feel what is so big deal in uttering such positive affirmations, but for someone who has always done negative self-talk, it indeed is a big change. 

Replacing such negative talks with the positive ones helps and works miraculously. With regular counseling and medication, Aditi improves and the doctor also offers her a job to help her build self-esteem and realize her self-worth, which helps her a lot.

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Symptoms of Aditi:

• Mood swings
• Self-harm
• Negative thoughts
• Difficulty in concentration and focus
• Complete isolation
• Disturbed sleep patterns
• Self-hatred

Possible causes suggested in the movie:

• Childhood trauma
• Unaddressed trauma
• Need of reassurance
• Sense of worthlessness
• Lower self-esteem and self-doubt

I am good: How hard it is to believe it?

Since this is just a 30-minute movie, you might question how come everything works out so well with the girl? But that’s what the message is all about, it is not about how it is about when and then how. When you see a potential disorder in a person near or close to you pay attention, talk, and try to understand, if you fail to understand, visit a counselor and that’s how you help that person.

That’s what happened in the movie, although the father could not understand, still, he was open to see the counselor and seek medical help for her daughter’s mental disorder. Otherwise, if he would have been a stereotyped father who feels ashamed of visiting a mental health care provider, Aditi might have lost her life very soon.

Conclusion:

To conclude, I would say that mental health disorders need more and more awareness and conversations. The more we talk about it the more we normalize it. I have watched many documentaries that get critically acclaimed but again due to lack of awareness and interest, people prefer entertainment over societal needs.

There are plenty of documentaries and movies available on OTT platforms, hardly 30 -50 minutes watch. Watch them, promote them, be a part of spreading mental health awareness.