At Filmibeat, we love interacting with artists, directors and filmmakers who are passionate about their craft. As I watched ‘Vajood Rahe Maujood’, a film that created awareness on dementia, I was mighty impressed with the concept and the execution.
The Tata Trusts have launched ‘Vajood Rahe Maujood’, a short film that raises awareness about dementia among the audience. While Geeta Agarwal Sharma plays the role of a mother who has early signs of dementia, Priyanshu Painyuli is seen as her son and caregiver. The film has managed to strike a chord with the audience, all thanks to the impeccable performance of the artists and the direction.
In an exclusive conversation with Filmibeat Assistant Editor Abhishek Ranjit over a phone call, director Keigan Pinto got candid about the project. He bared his heart out as he talked about casting for the film, and how the team worked to raise awareness on an important topic.
Here are excerpts from the interview-
1. Dementia is often associated with severe memory loss, but the film focuses on early signs. Why was it important to tell the story at this stage?
Early signs are where the actual solution lies. No story in the world should end without hope. If you wait until severe memory loss sets in, you’ve lost the window to really intervene. The core intention of the film with the Tata Trusts, was to start the conversation at a point where families can actually do something about it. We wanted to bring hope and solutions for families for this unfortunate condition. As a director, there were multiple layers to why we wanted to tell this story at this stage. In this film, the lady is every bit charming and has her wits about her, but she was dismissive of the challenges that she starts facing on a day-to-day basis. These are the moments that people need to identify and be hyper vigilant about. Diseases like dementia, which is a tough conversation, has to be identified through any kind of abnormalities that can be seen and that was exactly our aim by showing the subtle signs.
2. What are some everyday behaviours that families might dismiss as normal ageing but could actually warrant attention?
We in India tend to sit back and brush off a lot of subtle shifts as just “budhapa” (old age). When identity, routine, or basic interactions start subtly shifting, that warrants attention rather than just being dismissed.
The four symptoms that we chose to depict in the film, were a deliberate attempt to showcase how something as minor as forgetting a word – something as basic as a microphone, is not exactly a personal memory but more of a muscle memory that she could not remember. Time disorientation and repeating questions look so minor, but then suddenly you see the lady isolating herself and losing interest in day-to-day life. These symptoms, when seen together as a pattern, were quite important for us to show.
3. The person with dementia and the caregiver both go through a transformation. Whose journey did you find more emotionally challenging to portray?
As a creative person, I look at both sides of that filter. The harsh truth is that the person suffering from dementia gradually feels lesser and lesser in terms of emotions, while the caregiver feels more and more. I, on a personal level, feel that it is more difficult to portray the caregiver. The in-depth insights that we received from the Tata Trusts’ team, were just the realities in people’s homes that I mouthed through the film. The caregiver, who is actually not in any pain, is suffering along with the person going through it. It’s not just the person losing themselves but also the caregiver. Through the poem, we wanted to slowly highlight the sufferings from both ends without making the mother feel humiliated or small.
It’s not just the person needing therapy but the caregiver too who also needs it. Portraying the person with dementia means capturing a very quiet, gradual erosion of identity (vajood) before severe cognitive decline even hits. But capturing the caregiver is equally intense because in India, we expect families to just cope without questioning it. Balancing that raw, unfiltered emotional truth while keeping the narrative structured and hopeful for the client was the real challenge.
4. In India, caregiving is often treated as a family responsibility rather than something that requires support. Does the film challenge that perception?
I personally feel that in urban areas, doctors and additional help are always the first preference instead of preparing the families to take over and understand ways to handle this disease. I believe family support along with backing from medical signs, is of utmost importance. The film relays how awareness among the family members can help identify and manage these symptoms at an early stage.
5. What do you think is the biggest misconception about dementia that needs to be addressed?
The biggest misconception as shown in our film, is misrepresenting it as old age. People think if someone remembers your name, they’re fine. But the early, subtle behavioural changes are where the signs can be spotted. Misattributing those early signs to normal ageing keeps people from seeking help when it matters most.
6. Can awareness films actually change behaviour, or does awareness need to be accompanied by stronger support systems for families?
Absolutely. We have a deep legacy of films in India and we absorb information through cinema. By putting this dynamic on screen, the film forces families to realise that caregiving isn’t just a quiet burden to endure behind closed doors, it’s something that requires active awareness, early intervention, and broader support. A film creates that initial emotional spark and gets people talking in living rooms. But of course, the film is the catalyst; the broader support systems and medical infrastructure have to be there to pick up where the story leaves off.
7. How was the process of choosing the characters for the film and how did you choose Priyanshu and Geetaji?
Priyanshu has done some incredible work over the years, and the same goes for Geeta ji. What stood out to me about both of them was their ability to convey so much through the smallest expressions and gestures. This story needed that kind of restraint and emotional depth.
When I narrated the concept to them, they immediately understood what we were trying to achieve. They were genuinely excited about the film and, more importantly, felt proud to be associated with the Tata Trusts because of the respect and admiration they have for the Trusts’ work and legacy.
Honestly, they were my first choice from the start. And once we got on set, they completely brought the characters to life. What I loved was how naturally they slipped into the mother-son dynamic. The conversations in the film are not easy ones to have, but both of them handled them with such honesty and subtlety that it never felt like a performance.
There were moments when it genuinely felt like a real mother and son were having a difficult conversation. That’s the magic they brought to the film. They understood the brief perfectly and added layers of warmth, vulnerability and authenticity that made the story far more powerful than I had imagined.
8. How did you come up with the setting of the birthday party to issue being communicated through a poem ? What was your creative process like?
The idea of using a poem came from the emotional reality of the relationship. Sons don’t always find it easy to express their deepest feelings, especially to their mothers. And in this story, the son is trying to tell his mother something incredibly difficult, that he can see her changing and may be losing parts of her personality to dementia. That’s not a conversation most people would know how to have directly.
If he had simply sat her down and said it outright, it might have felt too clinical or even unrealistic. I wanted him to communicate his fears, his love, and his concern in a way that felt authentic to the character. A poem allowed us to do that.
What I loved about the device of a poem was that it wasn’t just a way of expressing what he was feeling, it was also a gift. Through it, he’s gently helping his mother recognise that something may be wrong, while also reassuring her that she’s not alone. He’s telling her, “I’m here, I’ll walk this journey with you.”
Those are a lot of emotions to convey in a single conversation without making it feel heavy. The poem gave us the space for tenderness, vulnerability and hope, all at the same time. For me, it felt like the most honest and human way to tell this story.
