It is quite usual to depict the so-called normal on screen. But once in a decade, or two, we come across a film, or two, that challenges the norms, values, ideas and societal expectations that get construed and constructed as the normal. Sitaare Zameen Par (SZP), directed by R.S. Prasanna, undoubtedly falls into the latter category. With the tagline ‘sabka apna apna normal’, which translates as everyone has their own normal, the film that released in June 2025 makes a firm conviction in this regard. Especially in such a fragmented, layered and hierarchical society as ours, such a message resonates across socialities and sociabilities. The film delves precisely into autism and Down syndrome. But it also does well to challenge many other aspects of the normal. The topic of disability is certainly not new to Bollywood. For instance, through his films Khamoshi (1996), Black (2005), and Guzaarish (2010), Sanjay Leela Bhansali was able to delve deeper into these issues. But what makes SZP a perfect fit into the continuum is its ability to normalise the idea that normal is a plural category and does not restrict itself to predominant perspectives of normativity.

What is normal if not a social construct? It particularly ideates as a condition of conformity with the usual, typical and expected norms existing in a particular space and time. For centuries, the idea of the normal and the pathological co-existed as perfect binaries. Any deviation from the expected norms was thereby considered pathological or abnormal. It was Emile Durkheim (in The Rules of Sociological Method) who classified them as social facts, serving the function of maintaining the social order. Notwithstanding, over time, social order has faced resistance and challenges. As Michel Foucault (in The Birth of the Clinic) also notes, up to the end of the eighteenth century, medicine related much more to health than to normality; whereas, on the other hand, nineteenth-century medicine was regulated more in accordance with normality than with health. It took a long while for people to begin accepting conditions earlier considered to be not ‘normal’ or less ‘normal’ as quite ‘normal’. Some of these conditions that were earlier conjoined to normative behaviour related to physical disability, mental health, and even homosexuality.

SZP marks an important departure in this regard, especially insofar as the Indian social context is concerned. The film begins as a reckless pursuit of an out-of-favour basketball coach, one who is extremely insensitive to such sensibilities. It ultimately leads to a feeling of self-realisation within the person to believe that the normal is largely contextual and deeply relative. Such aspects included ideas that it is not normal to call someone paagal (a condition of mental health disorder). It also dawns on him that intelligence as a human quality cannot be solely quantifiable or measured in absolute terms. So, it is quite normal to be special and quite special to be normal (or not) in the way society expects one to conform and to be. The protagonist Gulshan Arora, portrayed by Aamir Khan, is also constantly reminded by the caretaker of the special needs school to harbour deep sensibilities, rather than amusement, dismay or even dismissive attitudes towards the disabled individuals. Towards the end of the film, what is heartwarming to watch is that, while orienting his successor to the job, the protagonist is quite aware of how the coach must deal with each one according to their needs or (cap)abilities.

Now, coming to the other aspects of normal that this film challenges. First, it challenges some of the norms that the institution of marriage has institutionalised over the years. It was quite exciting to note that this film seeks to break the stereotypes concerning marriages, a social institution that is largely ridden with patriarchal overtones. So, when a friend seeks to be a matchmaker for the protagonist’s wife and not for him, assuming that their marital relationship is in turmoil, his ego gets affected, prompting the age-old classic question – where and how am I lacking? Second, the protagonist’s leaving their marital residence to return to his parental home was also quite an interesting departure. Third, and most importantly, the fact that the questions relating to family and building intimacy can also be applied to the saying that ‘age is just a number’. So, when the protagonist discovers that his mother has been ‘living-in’ with her partner disguised as a cook in her own house, it is certainly a rare moment to witness and envision, not just as a cinematic trend, but from a societal point of view as well. SZP not only does well to at least ask some of these questions that question the normal, but also scores a point in underscoring that what is normal for one may or may not corroborate with the other. Let us hope that societies embrace such ideas with greater urgency.

References

Durkheim, E. (1895/1982). The Rules of Sociological Method. New York: The Free Press.

Foucault, M. (1973/2003). The Birth of The Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception. London: Tavistock Publications Limited.

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Soumodip Sinha teaches Sociology at Alliance University, Bengaluru. He is passionate about movies and sports and looks forward to developing these as future areas of interest, in a strictly sociological sense.