Deepika Padukone, star of Chennai Express, talks openly about her struggles with depression and says she will raise awareness in India
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone has been praised for talking publicly about her battle with depression, in a country that has traditionally stigmatised the illness.
The 29-year-old star of Chennai Express is one of India’s most popular film stars and said it had been “a struggle to wake up” during a period of depression last year, which led her to seek help and eventually take medication.
“There were days when I would feel okay, but at times, within a day, there was a roller-coaster of feelings. Finally, I accepted my condition,” she said in an interview with the Hindustan Times newspaper on 15 January 2014.
Padukone, the daughter of the badminton player Prakash Padukone, was born in Copenhagen and raised in Bangalore.
She says she is working on a plan to create awareness about depression and anxiety, which would she would unveil to the public later this year.
Professor Vikram Patel, of the Public Health Foundation of India, said he was delighted Padukone had “shown the courage” to talk openly about her condition. “It’s extremely good news that someone who’s extremely popular in the public eye has come out and spoken about a health issue that’s traditionally stigmatised,” he told AFP.
As a teenager she played badminton in national level championships, and later became a fashion model. She made her acting debut in 2006 and won a Filmfare Award for best female debut in the 2007 blockbuster Om Shanti Om.
Mirjam Dijkxhoorn, at the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health in the southern city of Chennai, said it was unusual for an Indian celebrity to speak out about such issues.
“It’s very important,” she said, referring to World Health Organisation statistics that show one in four people will be affected by mental health issues at some point in their lives.
She said people were “scared to talk about it” in India, fearing their illness could reflect on their families. Patel said implementation of the country’s existing district-level mental health programme was “extremely patchy” on the ground. He hoped Padukone speaking out would not reinforce the widespread illusion in India that depression was a problem for rich people – “it’s commoner among the poor and dispossessed”, he said.
Padukone said people struggled to understand her predicament when she was outwardly so successful.
“It’s not about what you have or don’t have. People talk about physical fitness, but mental health is equally important,” she said.
“I see people suffering, and their families feel a sense of shame about it, which doesn’t help.”
In her interview, Padukone said of her depression: “Accepting it and speaking about it has liberated me. I have stopped taking medication, and I hope my example will help people reach out for help.”
