Deepika Padukone launches Live Love Laugh lecture series on mental health: Long way to go

Deepika Padukone recently launched the lecture series of her Live Love Laugh foundation in the capital.

Mental health and promoting an empathetic discussion around it has been the centre of Deepika Padukone’s agenda ever since she came out with her story of dealing with depression. Deepika became one of the first celebrities in Bollywood to break the stigma and start an open dialogue around mental health.

In fact, four years ago when she launched her project Live Love Laugh Foundation, aimed at doing the same, she received a lot of acclaim for it. And now, taking another step towards helping people battle depression, Deepika launched her first lecture series on mental health last night, in Delhi.

At the launch event of her lecture series, Deepika talked about the journey of her foundation. She said, ‘I think it has been an incredible journey. The Live Love Laugh foundation has been here for four years now. As far as the conversation around the importance of mental health is concerned, I think that we have come a long way. I think the media has had a huge role to play in opening up the conversation in various ways. Whether it is interviews, write-ups, articles, it’s come through in various ways.’

She also opened up on how her lecture series will help people cope up with depression, ‘I think we most certainly have a long way to go and that’s why we have the lecture series today. We invited people from different professions, various parts of the world, but most importantly, people who are passionate about mental health and have them talk to us about their journeys, their experiences. I think this will open up the conversation and take it to the next level.’

Talking about the problems she faced in this journey, Deepika said, ‘I think the conversation has really opened up. I don’t think there is as much stigma as there used to be four years ago. But we certainly have a long way to go in creating awareness. I think that’s where we need to keep the conversation alive.’

Deepika Padukone’s parents at the event Photo: Yogen Shah

At the event in the capital, Deepika was also accompanied by her sister Anisha Padukone and her parents Prakash Padukone and Ujjala Padukone