Redefining normal

Director and actor Amole Gupte on how to talk to neurodivergent individuals

Kabir Singh Bhandari The second edition of Art Unbound is currently underway at The Free Press House 

Gallery, till April 30, featuring paintings by neurodiverse artists. Art Unbound 2.0 is an initiative of The Free Press Journal and Strokes & Stories, a parent-led initiative which aims at showcasing art by neurodiverse individuals, aiming to break stereotypes and change the outlook of the world towards the neurodiverse community so as to look beyond their disabilities. Director and actor Amole Gupte was the chief guest at the event. During an interaction at the FPJ Studio, he spoke to us about the exhibition, how one should speak to neurodivergent individuals and also whether India should ban social media for children under the age of 16. Excerpts:

First of all, what did you think about the exhibition?

The exhibition is mind-blowing because I have been a painter myself. I fed my family for more than 12 years as a painter and I’ve understood the renaissance of art. I also saw how networking pitches up an artist and his or her price in the market, which might not be connected with art at all. So when you see a neurodivergent mind at work without these missives of financial gain and profit, that is the purest form of art. And that is what I celebrate, that aspect of children’s honest 

expression, be it poetry, painting, enactment or drama. It baffles me that the adult community doesn’t pay heed to the purity of children’s expression.

What are your thoughts on the way some people behave when in the presence of neurodivergent individuals?

Chances are that they might act so weird that I might have to judge that person in a different spectrum because it is so unnatural and such an overwhelmingly shocking response that people give to completely regular children. When you are celebrating difference, then your mind also grows to that difference. When a ‘normal society person’ gets freaked out when encountering people who they imagine are of a different subset—how silly is it of them to think that way.

The more you get acclimatised to the entire universe and accept all beings and things, from trees to animals to birds to human beings, then the day you respect everything, it will come naturally to you. Most of the time, you can see the pity in the eye of the beholder—“Oh. Kya hoga”. Kya hoga? Arey tum kaun hote ho sochne waale. Tum apna socho.” Judgments should be restricted to the courthouse.

On a slightly separate note, Australia has banned social media for children under 16. Should India do the same?

Australians are also behaving like adults and thinking on behalf of children. It's judgmental, I feel. If you want to ban social media, then ban it across ages—what is good for the father is good for the son. What is good for the mother is good for the daughter. The adults have created this monster for profit, which has now escaped from the bottle.

Art Unbound 2.0

Where: FPH Gallery, 

Free Press House, 

Nariman Point

When: Till April 30