The short documentary “Demonic Possession: An Inside Story” starts out by giving the staggering statistic that an estimated 16 million people suffer from mental illness in India. Many of the women suffering from mental illness are diagnosed with possession by spirits, and they visit street exorcists to rid themselves of their ghosts. One such exorcist is a computer scientist by day and a passionate exorcist in his spare time, taking fees of up to $1,500 USD for the treatment of his “patients.” In some places, people are chained up in a courtyard awaiting treatment for days or weeks at a time. The concept of possession crosses time and space, and this documentary is a fascinating chronicle of what it looks like today in India.
