B'wood's 'rare diseases'

Bollywood seems to be setting a new trend in exploring rare diseases which seek to raise awareness about lesser known ailments and the celeb touch to such diseases make people aware about it. Here are a few of them... In the upcoming flick 'Paa', superstar Amitabh Bachchan plays a child affected with Progeria, a rare genetic disorder where a child ages three times faster than normal. The movie has Abhishek Bachchan and Vidya Balan playing Big B's parents.

In another upcoming film by Karan Johar, 'My Name is Khan', Shahrukh Khan portrays the pateint of 'Asperger's syndrome' where the victim has difficulty interacting socially. The movie also brings back the hit duo of SRK and Kajol back again.

In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next, 'Guzaarish', Hrithik Roshan plays the role of a person who is suffering from paraplegia, a complete paralysis of the lower half of the body including both legs.

The movie 'Taare Zameen Par' brought the problem of 'dyslxia' in children to the notice. Aamir Khan had created a huge impact by portraying the problems of dyslexic children. Since dyslexia can not be detected easily, it required special effort to deal with the subject. And that's why it created such awareness level among people regarding dyslexia.

In the movie 'Black', Amitabh Bachchan was shown succumbing to 'alzheimers', a progressive and fatal brain disorder that destroys brain cells, causing memory loss and problems with thinking behaviour. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Black' showed Big B and Rani at their best and brought into notice the problems of such patients.

Action -thriller 'Ghajini' was one of the major hits of the year 2008. The movie explored the life of a rich businessman played by Aamir Khan who develops anterograde amnesia, a selective memory deficit resulting from brain injury.

In 'Krazzy 4' Arshad Warzi was portrayed as a schizophrenic. His acting skills was appreciated in the movie that brought back Arshad into the limelight.