Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 21 : Director Mitul Patel has revealed that his film 'Mercy' is inspired by an emotionally charged real-life account shared by actor Paresh Rawal during an interview about his mother's prolonged illness and coma, which deeply shaped the film's central theme of end-of-life decisions and moral conflict.
Patel told ANI, "As a writer, I look for conflicts in stories. I couldn't find a bigger conflict than this where a son has to face this choice of letting go of his mother. So, I think age has nothing to do with it. I just found that this is a very meaty subject and I just couldn't resist writing on it. It all started with an interview 3.5 years ago. It was an interview with Paresh Rawalji where he talked about his mother. His mother was in coma. In a slightly grim situation, the dean of the hospital came to him. He was his friend and he said, Paresh, you are not making his life long, you are making his death long."
Recalling the anecdote, Patel said Rawal had delayed taking a decision about withdrawing life support. "He was like, the one who gave birth to us, who are we to take that call on her? He kept prolonging the decision and delaying it. As soon as he was about to take a decision, his mother passed away. So, what he learnt from this situation became my inspiration," he shared.
The director emphasised that the film addresses a sensitive but important subject. ".....It will be better when we talk about mortality openly. End of life care, dignity in dying. We will start a conversation about all this. This is the goal of the movie," he said.
Patel also pointed out the need for better awareness and emotional preparedness.
"This should be the perspective of the doctors as well. They should educate their patients and family members. They should train their emotional quotient. I hope this situation doesn't happen to anyone. But if it happens, they should be prepared. They should know how to deal with it emotionally. That's my hope," he added.
Actor Raj Vasudeva, who plays a key role in the film, said the story resonates universally, recalling an incident, he shared, "I was in Holland in 2023. My wife's family was affected. Someone selected euthanasia. Active euthanasia is legal there. I came back to India in 2023....," he shared.
He added, "..In India, people don't talk about death. Death is a morbid subject. People don't talk about it. They talk about it at home. But how do they let their loved ones go? They live in hope that a miracle will happen. That they will be fine. It is difficult to make that choice. Our film is on that subject. We are hoping that after this film, people will start having conversations.
Niharica Raizada highlighted the emotional depth of the narrative, saying, "We think about birth and life, but very few people prepare for death. Through this film, we want people to think about what to do when that time comes."
She also stressed the importance of understanding women's emotions, adding that "in India, women often remain unheard, though that is slowly changing."
Actor Aparna Ghosal said the film explores the moral dilemma around euthanasia. "It is a very sensitive issue in India. When there is no hope of recovery, the family has to take a decision. The film will make people emotional but also aware of how to handle such situations," she noted.
Meanwhile, Kunal Bhan described his character as someone caught between practicality and emotion.
"There are two pillars, practicality and emotionality. My character may seem less expressive, but he understands the pain and tries to present facts. It's a very layered role," he said.
"There has been a lot of change in the emotional level while making the film. Because, you may or may not know, in our set, this situation has happened with a lot of people. So, it became our responsibility to present this film with the same sensitivity, with the same innocence and purity so that those people who have gone through this, they don't feel that we are making something like this on this topic. It became our responsibility and when the same people relate to the same matter, the proudest moment for us is when someone has gone through the same situation and people have come to us and told us, then we feel that now we have made something where people can connect and relate so we are somewhere successful in what we were trying to do," said Bhan.
'Mercy,' directed by Mitul Patel and produced by Everclear Films, narrates the heart-wrenching story of Shekhar, played by Raj Vasudeva, as he faces the agonising decision of whether to end his terminally ill mother's suffering on Christmas Eve. The film also stars Niharica Raizada, Kunal Bhan, Aparna Ghosal, and Adil Hussain, who bring depth and intensity to this poignant narrative.
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