MUMBAI: Director Kaushik Roy’s film Apna Asman, which is due for release on 7 September, is an inspiration from his own son Orko’s life, who is mildly autistic. The movie stars Irrfan Khan, Shobana, Rajat Kapoor and Anupam Kher. The role of Orko has been essayed by new find teenage Dhruv Panjuani.

Talking about the story of the film, director Roy revealed, “Though the story was a work of fiction, a lot of things were true. Orko had serious motor coordination problems where till the age of 11, he could not hold a pencil properly to write. Suddenly one day, he turned his handicap into his strength by starting to draw bold, uninterrupted lines. This inspired me to encourage people to look beyond their weaknesses and parents to encourage children to pursue their own dreams rather than chasing their own.”

After this incident was shared with actor Irrfan Khan, he developed a very special relationship with Orko. In fact when they were shooting for the film, Irrfan would start his day by taking a photograph of Orko and him together. Even to this day every mail or SMS from him to Roy always has a mention of Orko.

Apna Asmaan is co-produced by Umang Pahwa and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing of India.