Love and madness have been closely linked in literature, folklore, and cinema for centuries. In many South Asian narratives, the “mad lover” is viewed not as ill, but as deeply devoted and spiritually pure. Laila Majnu, directed by Sajid Ali, revisits the classic tale of Layla and Majnun in a modern setting.
The film follows the intense and unstable relationship between Qais and Laila. As repeated separations and emotional turmoil unfold, Qais gradually deteriorates psychologically. He becomes socially withdrawn, neglects self-care, loses touch with reality, and experiences hallucination-like perceptions of Laila. Although psychiatric treatment is briefly depicted, it is portrayed as ineffective and restrictive.
Drawing inspiration from Sufi ideas of love, particularly the stages culminating in junoon (madness), the film presents Qais’s psychological decline as a form of sacred devotion rather than illness. Through poetic imagery, music, and spiritual symbolism, psychosis is aestheticised and romanticised, making suffering appear profound and transcendent.
Such portrayals are important because cinema strongly shapes public attitudes toward mental illness. Psychotic disorders are associated with severe distress, impaired functioning, stigma, and reduced quality of life. In Laila Majnu, however, psychosis is presented less as a disabling psychiatric condition and more as the ultimate expression of love and spiritual devotion. The boundaries between romantic longing, mystical transcendence, and mental illness become deliberately blurred.
While this artistic approach contributes to the film’s emotional and visual power, it risks romanticising psychosis and obscuring the realities faced by individuals living with severe mental illness. Examining such representations through the lens of literary psychiatry can foster meaningful discussion about the differences between poetic depictions of madness and the lived reality of psychotic disorders.
Dr. Simran Sandhu
Senior Resident
Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal
