‘If mental health is depicted in the right way, it can have far-reaching consequences’: Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone has been an active advocate of mental health ever since she opened up about her personal struggle with depression in 2015. The actor has, since then, launched a mental health awareness foundation, ‘Live, Love, Laugh’, and spoken extensively about the issue on several platforms.

Recently, the 36-year-old featured on the cover of Vogue India’s May issue, where she discussed her achievements, acting and aspirations. Deepika also opened up about the need for a sensitive portrayal of mental health on-screen. “With understanding and empathy,” said the actor, on being asked how the issue should be depicted in cinema.

Stressing the need for more nuanced and comprehensive research on the subject, she added, “If an actor were portraying a character with a physical ailment, for example, they would do their research and due diligence in order to discern exactly how to depict their condition. The same courtesy needs to be extended to mental illnesses. Actors, writers and directors shouldn’t be winging it. We should afford the same honesty and authenticity to characters with mental illnesses as we do to biopics.”
Highlighting the wide impact of cinema, Deepika said it is “a powerful medium of understanding”. “If mental health is depicted in the right way, it can have far-reaching consequences for a country like India, where the conversation around mental health has only just begun. Similarly, one wrong depiction could set us back years,” she said.
The Piku actor went on to address the need for a therap on film sets. “Something I personally hope to do in the next few years is to have a therap present on film sets. We have a doctor on set, so I don’t see why we can’t have a mental health professional too.”

Elucidating her own experiences with a therap on the sets of her films Chhapaak and Gehraiyaan, she said, “During Chhapaak (2020), I brought on a therap for myself because there were days where I would have a panic attack or feel claustrophobic—it wasn’t easy carrying the emotion that came from playing Malti for so many months. To have a therap hold my hand through that was important to me. In fact, I had a similar process for Gehraiyaan as well. I have already started doing this at an individual level, but as a producer, I would like to make therapy available to the whole crew.”

During the conversation, Deepika also opened up about the several challenges she faced in the industry. “My South Indian accent was also frowned upon and I initially worried about being written off because of it,” she revealed.

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