World Mental Health Day: How Deepika Padukone started and championed the much-needed conversation

It’s World Mental Health Day, and fortunately we have reached a point today where the subject is no more a taboo. Growing up, I saw any mental health issue being termed as ‘ye to pagal hai’. The knowledge and acknowledgement of the subject was a distant dream. But credit where it’s due, Bollywood has had a huge role in normalising the issue and making it a topic of conversation. Amongst the ones who made it all possible, stands Deepika Padukone who has been the face of it for a long time.

Deepika Padukone’s role in normalising mental health discussion

The actress was amongst the first leading actresses, or even actors for that matter, to come out and speak openly about battling depression. She gave voice to the issue when it wasn’t even discussed openly. Her struggle with mental health provided relatability and courage to many people out there.

But it wasn’t just one discussion from Deepika Padukone. Since then, the actress has been a champion of the cause and led from the forefront. Being vulnerable about issues like depression was once considered career suicide for actors. But Deepika changed that narrative. She showed how important it is to speak up because you never know how and who it might inspire.

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Deepika’s courage gave confidence to many others. Since her making mental health discussion normal, many actors have come out and spoken about their battles. And it’s not just depression, but people have learned the different types of mental health issues, be it anxiety, bipolar disorder or the other issues on the spectrum.

How Deepika inspired Bollywood

Post Deepika opening a healthy discussion on mental health, many other Bollywood actors shared their own struggles with the same. Anushka Sharma opened up about her anxiety. Even Shah Rukh Khan spoke about his depressive phase post his injury. It’s said that it takes one person to start a revolution, and when it comes to mental health awareness in India, Deepika became the face of it. An achievement that would open a lot of gates for generations to come.

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