KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has recalled how the late writer M T Vasudevan Nair powerfully portrayed the suffering caused by cancer, the dreaded disease, in his acclaimed film ‘Sukrutham’.
The HC order in the cancer drug case also referred to a scene in the film in which the protagonist, Ravishankar, played by Mammootty, tells his doctor that he would not opt for an injection.
This is followed by a heartbreaking monologue on how cancer patients and their bystanders end up pledging their entire lives to afford proper medical care, only to be left buried under mountains of debt.
Justice Harisankar V Menon said it was highly distressing that, despite the passage of more than three decades since the story was adapted into a film and won accolades at the national and state levels, and despite advances in technology, the plight of patients and their families remains the same.
“The aim of art was, is, and always will be to bring the various realms of society closer and to make them more aware of the lives led by others. Yet, despite such heavy social commentary, society and the situation have remained at a standstill in such cases,” the court observed.
“It is imperative that we, as a community and as a system that caters to billions, strike a balance between affordable access to medical treatment and maintaining adequate incentives,” Justice Harisankar said.