Braveheart diva Deepika Padukone came out in the open and publicly discussed her battle with depression last year on a TV channel. While the actress is at the peak of her career with back-to-back hits in her kitty, DP recently spoke at India Economic Summit and addressed her fear of depression relapse. Terming her past struggle as “such a bad experience”, the Padmavati actress always carries a fear of relapse.
The 31-year-old actor was interacting on the stigma surrounding mental illness at India Economic Summit. “I don’t think I can say that I’m completely over it (depression). There is always a fear at the back of my mind that I might have a relapse because it has been such a bad experience for me,” Padukone said. When quizzed if her mental condition cost her movie roles, Dippy opened up saying,”Maybe there are people who haven’t offered me films because they think I was depressed and I can’t act. Maybe, I don’t know. I’m in a good space because I can choose the movies that I want to act in, but I don’t think everyone has that luxury of where they want to work or when they want to work,” she said.
She started the ‘The Live Love Laugh Foundation’ to help those like her to cope up with depression. As she gears up for the release of her upcoming period-drama, a report by Cosmopolitan suggests Deepika sought medical assistance while the shooting the climax scene of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film. Rumor has it that the 31-year-old was extremely disturbed by the self-immolation scene (Jauhar). The suicide scene transported her back to the time when the actor was herself battling depression. Well, it isn’t just Dippy but her rumored beau Ranveer Singh too got seemed to have taken his portrayal of the merciless Khilji way too seriously. So much so that he was advised by his friends to visit a psychiatrist. However, both the stars completed their shoot with an unsettling impact on their minds. If these reports are anything to by, one can only imagine the level of brilliance the Ram Leela stars have put in to step into the shoes of their characters.
Stressing on the importance of inculcation of mental health in school curriculum, Deepika said, “A large part of the stigma comes from the fact that we (just) talk about physical education in schools. I had physical education in my school, but we didn’t have anything to talk about mental health. It’s not a part of the curriculum. If we included that in the curriculum and introduced the idea or the importance of mental health at school level, there will be no stigma.”
Unlike others, Dippy didn’t shy away from owning her issues. Elaborating on her decision to go public with her depression battle, she said, “I didn’t think about the repercussions. The idea really was to change the way people in India and the world see mental illness”.
On the work front, Deepika Padukone will be next seen in SLB’s Padmavati alongside Ranveer and Shahid Kapoor. The trailer of the magnum opus was released some time back and while Deepika, Shahid put on a great show, it is baddie Ranveer to watch out for!