North 24 Katham is a 2013 Malayalam film directed by Anil Radhakrishnan. In short, this film tells the story of the transformation in the life of a young techie who suffers from severe anxiety disorder. Fahad Fazil (Fahad Fazil), Nedumudi Venu (Mash) and Swati Reddy (Narayani) are the major characters in this film, these trio happen to travel together in a train to Trivandrum but had to return immediately to Calicut as the Old man receives a call from his home regarding the condition of his wife. 

Hari (Fahad) is a techie who looks like a solipsist who does not bother much about what is happening around him. He seems to be indifferent to others, colleagues and even to beautiful women. He feels out of home everywhere including in a party where all others enjoy themselves. His homelessness is due to the anxiety that he is suffering from. He thinks that everything is a threat for him. He is suspicious about everything as there can be some potential threat to his life.  One of the defining feature of anxiety is that you freak out for no reason. Hari faces permanent trust issues as a result of his anxiety. Even though he is an expert as a software developer, he cannot imagine taking a flight to US. He just freaks out at the mere thought of flying. When everyone else around him enjoys life, Hari is concerned about potential threat and infections. What happens in anxiety is that the familiarity with the world and others, collapses and the whole world becomes unfamiliar for us. We just freak out as we find not at home anywhere. Hari is so anxious that we find him always doing something in order to be stable. He always tries to avoid any dangerous situation. He thinks that there will be a huge drain of energy if we talk to others and he does not talk much in the film.

During the one day out with Mash and Narayani, there happens a radical transformation in his life. Eventually the world becomes familiar to him. A small romantic relationship develops between Hari and Narayani. Hari does not like anyone flirting with her. It seems that the budding romantic connection with Narayani and the fatherly affection of Mash, and the concern of a few people who met him on the way, results in a radical change in his life. We find Hari as a cold and emotionless person in the beginning of the film. He even refuses to help the old man collapsed before him in the train. Towards the end, more vitality and sense of beauty comes to the life of Hari. The world of technology must be the cause of his anxiety. In the beginning we find him as a computer hardware who can be shifted at will by the company manager. He becomes a human being towards the end of the film. The world becomes more and more familiar with him as the film develops and he builds trust with himself and others. He just imitates the way Narayani sucked her fingers after a meal and he finds that there is nothing wrong in such things of life. This film gives the hint that a warn love relationship can be a good remedy for anxious minds. 

This is indeed a great film on anxious minds. Do watch it.

Joseph Kala