An open letter to Deepika Padukone

By Martin D'Souza, Glamsham Editorial

It takes courage to take on a media house and tell them where to draw the line. That they continued to draw some more jagged lines shows their folly in perception.

I'm talking about your 'cleavage chatter' that hit the headlines after your bold tweet to the offending video clip, sometime in September last year.

Our media went into overdrive and it was surprising to see a supplement be so generous in its rebuttal in its display of space which usually goes for anything over Rs 10 lakh! You scored baby, big time!!

You of course, very firmly and gently, put an end to that banter by refusing to go further. Social Media went on, other publications tried to censure the offending media house. It worked both ways: for the media house and for HAPPY NEW YEAR, the film many thought you were promoting by your outburst.

While the offending video clip got eyeballs, print, television and internet mileage, your pertinent disclosure of anxiety and depression recently, went relatively unnoticed.

What a marvellous confession. Hats off to you!

It takes immense fortitude to come out in the open and speak of an issue that is taboo in our society. But that (anxiety and depression) is the biggest malaise of today. Many celebrities have also lost their lives to it; youngsters and adults both go for the noose instead of the root of the cause.

You are a celebrity in your own right and you would very well want to portray yourself as a woman of steel. That everything is hunky-dory. But no, you decide to speak. To let it be known that you too are human and not a superwoman as most in your shoes would like to portray. You decide to speak about your frailty, how you struggled, how you cried, how you felt hopelessly useless and a deep void within.

Working hard and coming to an empty home with no family can take its toll on one's mental and physical health. At the end of the day, family is the closest bond. The best support system. You would have definitely felt that.

It's heartening to note that you are now working on an initiative to create awareness about anxiety and depression, and help people. I believe your team is also working with you to formulate a plan, which you say will be unveiled soon. Pain experienced is the greatest lesson learnt. Lessons imparted to others from ones pain is the greatest form of giving. Very few do it.

I have a suggestion. Since you are from the industry and you fairly well know how it functions, set up a 'support system' for girls who are talented and are looking for a break. A 'support system' for talented girls who are not willing to take the 'broad road' in search of fame but are willing to fight it out. There are plenty of girls who have hit a wall. You know what I am talking about. Most talk about it. How I wish someone would come out in the open and speak about it.

As much as most in the industry would like to deny it, we all know that the casting couch does exist and it's a disease worse than depression.

Young girls looking for a break in this industry who are not connected, I dare say, are suffering because of that. It can get depressing. And for others, after getting that one break and proving themselves, the agony of being overlooked for reasons otherwise. That's super depressing!

Even if 10 girls benefit from this, you would have hit bull's eye with your initiative. It's really enlightening to know that there are people in the industry who want to help others. Happiness is not what you have, but what you give. It's not what you gather that matters, but what you scatter.

I'm sure as years go by, you would be happy to know that you have positively impacted the lives of so many aspiring actresses, who otherwise would have fallen into the pit of anxiety and depression.

Thanks for your boldness. Thanks for your initiative. Thanks for being an 'individual' and standing up for what you believe in. Thanks for being different. Thanks for not trying to fit in!

May your tribe increase!

PS: If you get the time, do read the below links, especially the one on Shwetha Prasad Basu.

God Bless You

Martin D'Souza

(This weekly column tries to be as honest as honest can be...)

Also read: Shwetha Prasad Basu is not alone

Also read: You have an intrinsic charm