A new app called Rent A Boy|Friend was
launched in Mumbai
and Pune on Friday with a motive to fight depression.
The
app's founder is Kaushal Prakash, an interior designer turned entrepreneur, who
thinks having boyfriends, or boy friends, can cure mental illness.
He
claims to be a victim of depression, and hopes to do his bit in fighting it,
reports DNA.
The app: How does this app, claiming to have all answers, work?
Prakash
claims his app connects women to 'gentlemen', who can just be a 10th or 12th
pass. The men (read boyfriends) are all A-grade models who have been selected
after rigorous auditions, said Prakash.
The women can 'rent' them.
The
parameters are looks and communication skills (no surprises there)!
He
also claims to have run a thorough criminal check on all men listed on the app
and website.
Platonic bond: Just talk: No sexual relationships, no private
meetings
The
app is definitely not for hook-ups. That's what Prakash claims. He said there
will be no private meetings or sexual relationships between the boyfriends and
women who rent them.
Ironically,
men listed on the website flaunt their well-toned six-pack abs.
But
why are only men on rent? Because "rent a girlfriend sounds weird in India
but it's ok abroad," asserts Prakash.
Money matters: What's in it for men? Money, of course
Prakash
asserts the website (http://www.rentabf.in/)
works on a commission basis. 70% of the rent will go directly to the men.
And
there are demarcations as well. For Rs. 3,000 per hour, you can get a celebrity
boyfriend, for Rs. 2,000 a model boyfriend and a commoner for Rs. 300-400.
These
men are capable of giving 'emotional advice', says Prakash.
Fact: At Rs. 500, you can psychiatric help for 15-20 minutes
But
helping you rent a boyfriend isn't the only thing this app does. A toll-free
number lets people get 'psychiatric help' for 15-20 minutes by paying Rs. 500.
However, Prakash didn't give clarity on the qualification of people working at
this call center.
Reaction: Psychotherapist tells why rent-a-boyfriend app is
problematic
Notably,
Japan
has a booming rent-a-family industry. Founder of 'Family Romance', wherein
professional actors behave like real family, Ishii Yuichi claimed his company
helps people cope up losses.
But
Prakash's idea isn't similar, as it's seeded around the notion that a partner
may cure depression.
A
Mumbai based psychiatrist said this was taking advantage of people who don't
know the impact of mental illness.
Fact: It's like a racket to cover mental health, says
psychotherapist
"It
seems to me like RABF is trying to cover up a racket with a mental
health service, which also means they are discounting the 16 years of
training some of us mental health experts have to undertake," the
psychotherapist added.