Recently, actor Salman Khan made a comment during the promotion of his movie Race 3, trivializing the concept of mental illnesses, in his style. He stated to a news agency, “I see a lot of people going on vacations, but I cannot afford that luxury of taking a vacation. I see a lot of people getting depressed and emotional, but I can’t afford that luxury of being depressed or sad or emotional because no matter what I am going through, it works against me.”
Now, as somebody who is a huge advocate of mental illnesses and even has her own organization – The Live Love Laugh Foundation, Deepika Padukone couldn’t take this comment sitting down. The actress has spoken out about depression and anxiety on various occasions and at a recent event to launch a survey report by her organization, she decided to respond to his dig. “There is a wrong conception that depression happens only to people from the higher socio-economic background and the condition is often perceived as a luxury.”
Deepika Padukone further went on to discuss the obliviousness of Salman Khan’s comment. “When we were talking about more celebrities coming out, there is also a misconception that depression happens to people who are successful. I want to clarify that it can happen to anybody from any field, irrespective of their socio-economic background. Depression is sometimes perceived as a luxury. People think that those who have too much time or money get into depression. I think it is very important to break that myth,” said Deepika during the launch of a study called “How India Perceives Mental Health” by The Live Love Laugh Foundation.
How amazing would it be if people like Salman Khan, who have a huge fan following and influence, used these same platforms to talk about relevant issues instead of trivialising them? The amount of difference that would make is unimaginable. Mr Khan, please be a little careful in the future. You owe it to your fans!
Image: Urban Asia
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