Brad Cohen, a renowned motivational speaker who overcame Tourette Syndrome, is set to promote Hichki – a film that is based on his life.
Yash Raj Films’ forthcoming production, Hichki, features Rani Mukerji as an inspiring, self-motivated school teacher named Naina Mathur who has Tourrete syndrome. The film has an extremely positive and celebratory messaging of overcoming one’s weaknesses and it highlights we are never defined by who we are born as but by our actions.
Hichki is based on the outstanding autobiography by Brad Cohen titled Front of the Class : How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had that went on to become an acclaimed Hallmark TV film in 2008. And the biggest secret of the film is this – Rani’s character is actually based on the real life story of Brad, a respected and popular motivational speaker and teacher from the United States, who suffers from Tourette Syndrome and faced discrimination and prejudice but ultimately overcame them with sheer will power. Cohen is now hugely respected for his determined effort to conquer the challenges of Tourette Syndrome.
A source says, “Brad will be promoting Hichki from US. He has been excited about the film being made in Hindi and his best wishes are with Rani and the entire team. Brad loves the trailer of Hichki and wants to lend his support to spread awareness around Tourette Syndrome in India and the world over. He will be promoting the movie in every capacity possible.”
The insider adds, “Everyone will be shocked to see how amazingly Rani has portrayed Brad. We all know she is a brilliant actor and Hichki is certainly one of her best works. After the media talks to Brad and sees him, they will realise how Rani has beautifully and sensitively portrayed the character of someone who is actually suffering from Tourette Syndrome. A film has the potential to magnify awareness among masses for a subject like this and both Rani and Brad were on the same page on this. They have had long chats where Rani has understood what he went through to overcome his challenges. Rani has been deeply touched by Brad’s story and it shows in the film.”
Directed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma, the movie is set to touch the hearts of audiences when it releases on March 23.
