Deepika Padukone bats for mental health as India battles COVID-19
Bollywood actress, who battled depression in the past, stepped forward during COVID-19
Indian actress Deepika Padukone, who has openly spoken about her personal battle with depression and is a fierce advocate of mental health, reminded her followers about the importance of emotional well-being as her country grapples with a savage second wave of COVID-19.
The ‘Padmaavat’ star, who is the founder of the Live Love Laugh Foundation, which aims to create awareness about mental health, stoically reminded her fans that they are “not alone” and that they were “in this together.”
“As millions of us (me and my family included) strive to stay afloat, let us not forget that our emotional well-being in this current crisis, is equally important! Remember, You Are Not Alone. We are in this together. And most importantly, there is HOPE! #YouAreNotAlone @tlllfoundation,” wrote Padukone on Instagram.
She posted a series of verified help line numbers and suicide prevention centres in India, which prompted her fans to laud her for her sensitive posts.
Padukone has been consistently posting about the importance of mental health and fitness over the past few months.
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.
“As a person who has had a lived experience with mental illness, I cannot stress enough about the importance of reaching out. Talk. Communicate. Express. Seek. Help. Remember you are not alone. WE are in this together. And most importantly, there is Hope,” tweeted Padukone following the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s last year.
The ‘Chhapaak’ star is likely to begin work with Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan in the official Hindi re-make of ‘The Intern’.
They re-unite after their 2015 hit blockbuster ‘Piku’ in which they played a father-daughter duo in a highly dysfunctional Bengali family.
Padukone isn’t the only Bollywood star to open talk about grappling mental health issue. Actress Alia Bhatt’s sister Shaheen Bhatt, Celina Jaitly and Anil Kapoor have all spoken up about the significance of addressing mental health concerns and removing the stigma attached to the disease.