Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, 29, who recently admitted to suffering from depression, is launching an awareness campaign about the condition because she says not enough is being done about it in India.
Admitting to suffering from depression or any mental illness is a taboo that has so far remained unbroken in India, particularly among film stars who rarely reveal news about personal misfortune or illness to the media.
But in an interview with the Hindustan Times a few weeks ago, Padukone candidly revealed that her fight with depression was particularly intense when she was working on Happy New Year, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan, in 2014. She added that she often struggled to get up in the mornings.
Then one day, she fainted. “It was all downhill from there,” she said. “I felt a strange emptiness in me. My breathing was shallow. I suffered from a lack of concentration and broke down often.”
Finally, the actress sought help from a family friend, the psychologist Anna Chandy, who advised counselling, which helped to some extent. Padukone was later prescribed medication, but then suffered another setback: a close friend who had been mentally ill committed suicide.
“My personal experience as well as my friend’s death urged me to take up this issue, which isn’t usually talked about. There is shame and stigma attached to talking about depression,” said Padukone.
She added: “One needs support and understanding ... My team is working with me to formulate a plan for a special project to spread awareness,” she said. The project has not been formally announced yet, but the actress is expected to rope in other Bollywood celebrities to promote the cause.
Padukone’s candour was hailed by several of her colleagues, including the superstar Amitabh Bachchan – a champion of women’s rights and a strong advocate for women’s empowerment in India. He said on his blog: “I don’t know the extent of what Deepika has said. But I think it is very honest and daring of her to talk about it not so much to gain from it, but to make people aware of it. Awareness is a huge factor in most illnesses.”
Other celebrities took to Twitter in a show of solidarity, including the actress Dia Mirza, who tweeted: "@deepikapadukone you are a brave, rare and beautiful person. More power to you and your initiative." The producer/director Rohan Sippy also tweeted out a link to the article in the Hindustan Times and added a personal message: "If you needed to love @deepikapadukone more, read this. And thank you for speaking publicly about this."
Padukone’s decision to speak out has opened up the topic for discussion in a country where any admission of suffering from a mental illness is seen as shameful or, worse, as a sign of weakness. A 2011 World Health Organisation study showed that Indians are among the world’s most depressed, and depression is twice as common among women.
The Indian government announced the country’s first mental health policy, which awaits approval in parliament, and it pledged last month to decriminalise suicide. But the importance of getting professional help to treat depression is often underestimated.
“I used to hate being told to cheer up,” said Sonal Verma, a 44-year-old chemistry teacher in New Delhi who suffered severe bouts of depression for 10 years. “I was very happy when Deepika spoke so honestly because, really, it can happen to anyone. It doesn’t matter how loving your family is, how good your parents are, or how supportive your friends are, it can hit anyone.”
“It’s not about what you have or don’t have. People talk about physical fitness, but mental health is equally important,” said Padukone. “I see people suffering, and their families feel a sense of shame about it, which doesn’t help.”
For Gorav Gupta, a senior consultant psychiatrist based in New Delhi, the other effect of the actresses’s frank outpouring “is the hope it gives other sufferers”. “The message they get from her interview is that if she could fight it, then they can seek treatment too, and get better. It is not hopeless,” he said.
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