‘Divine’ Deepika candid about depression stigma

by Amit Roy

BOLLYWOOD STAR URGES FELLOW INDIAN SUFFERERS TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP

INDIAN actress Deepika Padukone was the subject of a cover story last Friday (29) in ES, the London Evening Standard’s colour maga­zine, in which the 32-year-old Bollywood star spoke candidly about her past bat­tles with depression.

“Outwardly, her rise to fame seemed effortless,” ac­cording to the article.

“But what many didn’t know was that Padukone was, at this time, struggling privately with depression,” it added.

“And despite a string of performances that won her a clutch of Filmfare Awards (the oldest cinematic awards in India), her private mental health battle came to a head in 2014.”

Deepika told the maga­zine: “There was a lot hap­pening – people thought pro­fessionally it was one of the best years of my life. I was on a career high, but that’s the thing about depression – there are no warning signs. It just comes and it has nothing to do with how much money you have or how successful you are. Or what strata of so­ciety you come from. It can affect literally anyone.”

In Britain it is now no long­er rare for people in the pub­lic eye to reveal details about their mental illness struggles.

But this is definitely not the case in India, where there is still a huge stigma attached to mental health issues. That is partly because there is a fear that marriage prospects or careers would be adversely affected if people admitted they had struggled, for exam­ple, with depression.

This makes it even more creditable for “Divine Deepi­ka” – as ES called her – to be so forthright about such a sensitive issue.

If there is a moral to her tale, it is that people suffering from mental health problems should seek professional help as soon as possible.

When news broke last month about the suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, Deepika posted a passionate tribute to the pair on Instagram.

Asked if she had ever con­templated suicide, she replied: “When depression goes un­detected, it makes you sui­cidal. I’ve been fortunate to have had it detected early on in my life so it didn’t get to that stage. But you can’t sep­arate them from one another; it’s all in the same family.”

Deepika revealed that she had overcome her problems through “lifestyle changes and medication”. She was al­so on a mission to change perceptions through her Live Love Laugh Foundation.

In the interview done in London, she revealed she was partial to long, brisk walks in the English countryside, adored Britain’s royal family and “had withdrawal symptoms” when the latest series of The Crown ended on Netflix.