‘It is highly distressing...’ Kerala HC invokes Mammootty's Sukrutham over cancer treatment costs

Kochi, Kerala: A scene from Mammootty's 1994 film Sukrutham has found its way into a Kerala High Court judgment, more than three decades after the film portrayed the devastating financial burden faced by cancer patients and their families.

Justice Harisankar V Menon invoked the film, written by MT Vasudevan Nair, while reflecting on the affordability of cancer treatment in an epilogue to a judgment concerning the pricing of patented cancer medicines.

In Sukrutham, Mammootty plays Ravishankar, a journalist diagnosed with blood cancer. As he confronts the possibility of death, the film also explores the impact of his illness on his family and those around him.

One particular scene caught the attention of Justice Menon. Ravishankar tells his doctor that he does not want to undergo treatment because of the enormous financial burden involved.

"In the film directed by Sri Harikumar, the protagonist, portrayed by the legendary Padma Bhushan awardee Sri Mammootty, can be seen informing his doctor that he won’t be opting for the injunction. He follows this with a heartbreaking monologue on how cancer patients and their bystanders end up pledging their entire lives to afford proper medical care, only to be left buried in mountains of debt," the judgment said.

For the judge, the concern raised by the film has not disappeared with the advances made in medicine.

"It is highly distressing that despite the passage of more than three decades since this story was adapted into the movie vocabulary, and won accolades at the National and State levels, and despite the growth of technology, the plight of patients and their families remains the same," the Judge added.

The observation came in a case that began with a petition by a breast cancer patient seeking affordable access to a patented drug. The court subsequently took up the matter through suo motu proceedings and examined the wider issue of access to expensive cancer medicines.

Justice Menon stressed that access to treatment should not ultimately depend on a patient's financial circumstances. He called for collective efforts by the government, the public and other stakeholders to address the problem.

The judge also pointed to the need for a balance between making medical treatment affordable and ensuring adequate incentives for the development of medicines and healthcare technologies.