Revisiting Aparna Sen’s 15 Park Avenue Two Decades Later (A Two-Part Blog Series)
Kanav Narayan Sahgal
Nyaaya, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, India
The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, India

February 2026

Part 2: Experiencing Schizophrenia as a Son

15 Park Avenue and the Dynamics of Care

Editorial Note: This blog contains a detailed discussion of plot elements and key narrative developments in the film. Readers should be aware that spoilers are included.

On a more personal note, I am also drawn to 15 Park Avenue because Meethi reminds me of my father and Waheeda Rehman’s character, of my mother . As a child, I often struggled to understand my father’s schizophrenia and spent much of my early days reacting to almost everything he did (or did not do) with frustration or avoidance. Even today, I struggle to effectively separate his illness from his personhood and sometimes find myself inadvertently holding him personally responsible for his actions, even though I know I should not. Revisiting 15 Park Avenue, therefore, allowed me to see his perspective more clearly once again. Similarly, the film also prompted me to reflect on my mother’s role as a caregiver more deeply. She always knew about my father’s illness and, despite contemplating divorce several times over the years, chose—for reasons known best to her—not to go through with it. I have witnessed how, during my father’s violent episodes, she tried her best to comfort him, even when doing so left her deeply uncomfortable and distressed. Even today, she prepares small pudiyas—hand-rolled paper packets containing my father’s medicines—because he is unable to keep track of his medication by himself, and she ensures that he takes them every day. Caring for someone with a severe mental illness requires extraordinary patience, sacrifice, and emotional endurance. For this, I feel nothing but admiration and gratitude for the care she has shown him over the years.

One of my favourite scenes from the movie is at the 1:51:57 mark. Here, we see Anu comforting Meethi during one of her outbursts. This scene reminded me of the many times my mother comforted my father during his own outbursts. Meethi’s expression of fear and Anu’s expression of calm also hit very close to home, and I am sure other people reading this who are living with and/or caring for someone with a mental illness can relate to this dynamic.

The film’s final sequence is perhaps the most poetic and haunting. Meethi appears to arrive at 15 Park Avenue but is never seen again. Meanwhile, her family searches for her in vain as the film ends. The narrative offers no closure. Did Meethi find peace within her own reality? Did she meet an untimely death? Or did she simply vanish into a world that exists only for her? Sen does not tell us.

By refusing resolution, 15 Park Avenue resists the conventional cinematic impulse to provide a neat ending. We are left, instead, to imagine, reflect, and sit with uncertainty—much like Meethi was made to do for all her life.

15 Park Avenue is, and will remain, an evergreen Aparna Sen classic.

The author would like to thank Dr. Shreelata Rao Seshadri for screening this film and reviewing an earlier version of this blog.

About the Author
Kanav is the Programme and Communications Manager at Nyaaya, the access to justice vertical of the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. He is also a visiting faculty member at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru. His research interests lie at the intersection of sexuality, health, and legal policy. All views are personal.

Email: sahgalkanav@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanavsahgal/