A still from the film | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Not satisfied with how developmental disabilities were portrayed in Indian cinema, director Nikhil Pherwani cast an actor with Down syndrome in his début film, ‘Ahaan’ Filmmaker Nikhil Pherwani met 45-year-old Abuli Mamaji, one of the leads of his début film Ahaan, in a care facility for individuals with autism, Down syndrome (DS), and other learning disabilities. “The first thing he said to me was that he loves acting and Salman Khan,” Pherwani recalls. Ahaan, which had its theatrical release earlier this year and drops on Netflix on May 15, is a film about a young man with DS who finds a friend in an older neighbour struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), played by Arif Zakaria. The film, which Pherwani and his brother Abhishek have produced under their banner, Will Find Way Films, also stars Plabita Borthakur, Niharika Singh, and Rajit Kapur.