Actress Deepika Padukone has been honoured by the 26th annual Crystal Award for raising awareness about mental health issues. She is the only Indian actress to be featured in the 2020 winner’s list.
“With more than 300 million people suffering with the illness, depression is the leading cause of ill health and disability in the world today and a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease,” Padukone said.
“It is therefore increasingly clear that, now more than ever before, we need to aggressively address what is an invisible and overlooked health and social burden. I am humbled and deeply honoured to be chosen for this year’s Crystal Award and dedicate the award to the millions around the world who experience stress, anxiety and depression, and other forms of mental illness.”
Artist Theaster Gates and choreographer Jin Xing have also been felicitated with the Crystal Award.
On the work front, Padukone will be soon seen in the Meghna Gulzar-directed ‘Chhapaak’. The film is co-produced by Padukone and Gulzar, and is based on the life of acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. Padukone also features in Kabir Khan’s ‘83’ as cricketer Kapil Dev’s wife Romi Dev.
She will also star in the fourth film in Vin Diesel’s ‘xXx’ franchise.
In a recent post on social media, Diesel hashtagged the names of some of his co-stars from the third film of the series, ‘xXx: Return Of Xander Cage’, and Padukone’s was one of the names.
With an Instagram picture that shows him wearing Xander Cage’s trademark enormous fur coat, Diesel wrote: “Appreciate the creativity. How ironic that I had a Xander Cage meeting. Each franchise has its respective beautiful Family. Blessed.”
He ran the caption with the hashtags: “#RubyRose #ninadobrev #deepikapadukone #Liveforthis #XanderCage4.”
‘xXx 4’ will mark the revival of the high-octane action thriller franchise two years after the third film, which launched Padukone in Hollywood. If she returns in the fourth instalment of the series, it will be her second film in Hollywood.
While no official announcement has been made on ‘xXx 4’, rumours have varied about Padukone’s role in the film. While some sources say she might make a full-fledged appearance as Selena Unger, her avatar in the series, others say her protagonist might only have a strong cameo or special appearance.
