Bollywood star and activist Nandita Das believes conversations about mental illness need to become mainstream and it should be dealt with more compassion. The actor-filmmaker today launched the book of one of her interns, Varun Gwalani, which has been titled 'The First Storyteller.' Varun suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and his novel, though fictional in nature, comes from a personal space. Nandita, after unveiling the book, spoke about the social stigma attached to mental illness. More from the world of Entertainment: "We need to be unapologetic about mental illness. It is like any other illness. There are other cures. In our society we don't even have the right vocabulary. We don't even know how to deal with it. Either it is hushed or there is a discomfort. We just don't have conversations about it," she said. Varun, who began working with Nandita a few months ago, is involved with the director's upcoming project, Manto, which is Indo-Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto's biopic. Praising the 22-year-old writer, Nandita said that Varun is much ahead of his age in the way he thinks and he writes. Also read Manto: Nandita Das directorial to go on floors in March "He has conversations about mental illness and even has answers to so many questions, and sometimes too many, that I have to stop him, saying, 'You are just 22! You have a long way to go.' He thrives with people. I also like his thoughts on feminism. Very few men talk about feminism the way he talks. Also, he has a compassionate heart. I think that's what we lack. We need to have more compassion. I don't know what mental illness is. I feel we all have some kind of mental illness. Some express it more openly, some don't," she said. Manto stars actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the titular role and is set to go on floors in March.
