Psychology Project

Case Study- Barfi: Autism

Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

- Preksha Chhabrani 11 C
Sneha Hudiya 11 A
 Index

Certificate 2
Acknowledgment 3
Declaration 4
Abstract 5
Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder 7
Case Study: Barfi 11
Conclusion 15

Certificate
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This is to certify that Preksha Chhabrani and Sneha
Hudiya of Class XI have successfully completed their
research and the project entitled “Case Study- Barfi:
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)” under the guidance of
their Psychology teacher, Dr. Sakshi Thawrani. I further
certify that this project is up to my satisfaction and as per
the guidelines issued by the Central Board of Secondary
Education.

Signature of the Teacher

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 Acknowledgment

We would like to convey our thanks to Dr. Sakshi

Thawrani, our Psychology teacher, Centre Point School,
Nagpur for her immense help and guidance in the
completion of our research. She provided us with the
golden opportunity to carry out the research on the topic
Case Study- Barfi: Autism Spectrum Disorder, expanding
our knowledge about both the field of Psychology and
human nature. It is only due to her efforts that our
research could be completed successfully.

We would also like to thank our participants for their

cooperation and honesty.

Declaration

We hereby declare that the research work entitled Case

Study- Barfi: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with
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special emphasis on Exam results, submitted to Centre
Point School, Wardhaman Nagar, is a record of an
original work done by us under the guidance of Dr.
Sakshi Thawrani and this research work is submitted in
the fulfillment of the requirements for the class XI, CBSE
examination. The results embodied in this thesis have not
been submitted to any University or institute for the
award of any degree.

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to expand our knowledge

about mental disorders and analyze Autism Spectrum
Syndrome (ASD) in the movie Barfi. Barfi! is a 2012
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Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film written and
directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Ronnie
Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur under UTV Motion
Pictures. Set in the 1970s, the film depicts the story of
Murphy "Barfi" Johnson (a deaf-mute boy from
Darjeeling) and his relationships with two women, Shruti
and Jhilmil (who is autistic). The film stars Ranbir
Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead
roles, with Saurabh Shukla, Ashish Vidyarthi, Jisshu
Sengupta, and Roopa Ganguly in supporting roles. This
movie depicts the era of the 1970s (childhood of Jhilmil,
played by Priyanka Chopra), when there was no treatment
for autism and she is just placed in an institution by her
parents who are ashamed of her, the institute Muskaan
takes good care of her and loves her and then she finds the
love of her life in barfi (a deaf-mute guy played by Ranbir
Kapoor), with whom she lives a long life happily in
Muskaan and dies after his death, though this movie has
several flaws. The movie leaves a happy impression on
your mind and u go home smiling. Jhilmil is affected with
severe autism with no modern treatment or therapies
helping her but she gets the greatest gift from god, the gift
of true, unwavering and unconditional love, The so-called

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'not so perfect’ Barfi and Jhilmil together make a perfect
love story.

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 Introduction to Autism Spectrum
Disorder

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also known as Autism

is a developmental disorder with symptoms that appear
within the first three years of life. Here the word spectrum
indicates that the severity and symptoms of the disorder
vary from person to person. That means that each
individual with ASD experiences their own unique
strengths, symptoms, and challenges. These symptoms
appear early in a child’s development although diagnosis
may occur later.

Symptoms and Behaviors.

● Reduced eye contact

● Differences in body language
● Lack of facial expressions
● Not engaging in imaginative play
● Closely focused interests
● Indifference to temperature extremes
● Having a hard time interacting with others.
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Most people who have ASD have problems
communicating:

● Delayed speech and language skills.

● Repeating the same phrase over and over.

● Not using or rarely using common gestures (pointing

or waving), and not responding to them.

● Inability to stay on topic when talking or answering

questions.

● Trouble expressing needs and emotions.

Causes of ASD.

● There is no one cause of ASD, research shows it is a

combination of genetic and non-genetic, or
environmental influences.

● ASD doesn’t always run in families but a person is

more likely to be on the spectrum if one of their
parents is.

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 ● Many kids with ASD have a form of genetic disorder
like Down Syndrome.
● A large Danish study found a link between ASD and
the advanced parental age of either parent.

● Women prescribed opioids just before pregnancy are

more likely to have a child with ASD.

More about ASD.

● Between 1995 and 2011, the DSM-IV grouped

Asperger’s Syndrome with ASD. Asperger’s
syndrome was an ASD marked by strong verbal
language skills and, often, high intellectual ability.
● About 1 in 100 children in India under age 10 have
ASD.

● No blood or genetic test can diagnose ASD. It can

only be diagnosed through observation, medical
histories, and questionnaires.

● ASD is a lifelong condition but there are treatments

to help with the symptoms.

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10
 Case Study: Barfi

Characters

Barfi: Barfi was a deaf and mute man played by Ranbir

Kapoor.

Jhilmil: Jhilmil was an autistic girl played by Priyanka

Chopra.

Shruti: Shruti was the first love interest of Barfi but does
not marry him played by Ileana D'Cruz.

Jhilmil

● Our main focus is Jhilmil, who was an autistic girl

played by Priyanka Chopra.
● Priyanka said that she had to do some research of her
own since there was very little awareness about ASD
in India, she also visited several mental institutions
and spent time with autistic people to prepare for her
role.

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 ● Jhilmil is shown as a very innocent girl who was sent
to a mental institution Muskaan by her parents
because they were ashamed of her.

● Jhilmil’s father fabricated the kidnapping so that he

could embezzle money from her trust fund.

● Jhilmil is Barfi’s second love interest in the movie.

Barfi

● Barfi’s character is described as a regular, happy-go-

lucky, and good-hearted guy.

● Barfi was deaf and mute still he spread happiness and

brought smiles on people’s faces.

● Barfi was named after a radio Murphey.

● His first love interest as shown in the movie was

shruti but she couldn't marry him.

● He later found a love interest in Jhilmil and ended up

marrying her.

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Positives

The movie has played a significant role in spreading

awareness about ASD in India and with an innocent
character like Jhilmil who possesses a lot of symptoms
that affect an autistic person.

● It is told in the movie that this was a time with no

treatment for ASD and Jhilmil’s parents were
ashamed of her.

● The movie shows behaviors of an autistic person that

normally people would call strange. Jhilmil is shown
to need help with normal things like changing
clothes, using the toilet, going to sleep, etc.

● The movie also shows small details like autistic

people are highly sensitive to dust.

The movie is a great attempt at normalizing people having

mental disorders or being physically impaired.

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Negatives

The movie has its negatives where it might convey wrong

information about people suffering from the disorder.

Dr. Rubina Lal, a lecturer of SNDT University and a

doctorate in autism, talked about a few things that might
be portrayed wrongly in the movie.

● About an important sequence in the movie, an autistic

person can in no way communicate a phone number
to a stranger and place a call.

● Jealousy is too advanced of emotion for an autistic

person.

● Jhilmil shouting Barfi’s name repeatedly, with a

desire to want him back, is unreal behavior given her
disability.

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 Conclusion

ASD is a lifelong condition, but there is a wide variety of

treatments to support autistic people, some of the
symptoms can be treated. Early intervention delivers the
best results. In recent years, many children with ASD
have attended school in typical classrooms and started
leading a semi-independent life, however, the majority
remain affected to some degree throughout their life.
Movies can spread awareness for a good cause, that being
said we can’t always trust everything in those movies,
after looking at what the experts had to say about it, we
think that a lot of times movies can unintentionally
convey wrong information, so we should do our own
research about mental disorders, health issues, etc.

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