Bollywood star Deepika Padukone praises cricketer Ben Stokes for ‘prioritising’ mental health

After news broke of England’s Ben Stokes taking an indefinite break from sports to focus on his mental well being, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone took to social media to praise the cricketer’s decision.

After the news came out, the actress joined the chorus of celebrity voices speaking out in support of mental health.

A longtime advocate of the importance of focusing on mental health, Padukone showed support for the English all-rounder. Padukone took to Instagram and shared a news article on him, captioning the post, “#MENTALHEALTHMATTERS”.

Stokes has withdrawn from the home Test series against India, which was scheduled to begin on August 4.

Padukone has openly spoken about her personal battle with depression and is a fierce advocate of mental health, often using her social media platform to reach out to her followers to remove the stigma against speaking up about it. The ‘Padmaavat’ star is also the founder of the Live Love Laugh Foundation, which aims to create awareness about mental health.

Last year in April, Padukone had spearheaded a conversation on Instagram with WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu where she urged her fans to send in questions about emotional well-being and busted myths about the virus along the way.

This bankable actress, who is one of India’s most popular faces, has always maintained that a famous person who may seem wealthy and privileged can also be depressed and that it’s a disease that doesn’t discriminate based on caste or class.

Currently, Padukone is busy filming for Shakun Batra’s yet untitled film.

The actress shared a behind-the-scenes photo from the set on Instagram, which shows the actress sitting at a desk, wearing a baggy hoodie. “Shh... Work in progress,” she captioned the photo.

The film also stars Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa.