In the Palme d’Or winner The Square (2017), a man with Tourette syndrome interrupts a conversation between an artist and a curator by spewing out the foulest of abuses. The man does not mean to and cannot help himself, another explains.
In Rani Mukerji’s comeback movie Hickhi, the neuropsychiatric disorder manifests itself in more benign ways. Mukerji’s Naina Mathur wants to be a teacher, but her condition comes in the way. She cannot control her neck movements or prevent herself from making involuntary sounds. Being confident and well-adjusted, she refuses to be discriminated against.
Naina does become a teacher – but her wards are a bunch of borderline juveniles who poke fun at her condition and refuse to conform. The double-underdog saga, which has shades of Dangerous Minds and Front of the Class, has been directed by Siddharth P Malhotra (We Are Family) and will be released on February 23.