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Mental health is a sensitive topic. It takes a lot of courage to talk about it. And attitudes like these are certainly not helping create a conducive environment to talk about mental health openly.
Who doesn’t know Kapil Dev? The legend who held the 1983 World Cup and gave us Indians, our maiden World Cup victory. He is an icon and a role model to so many people. He has given wonderful moments to remember and cherish to his fans and players of the game.
Like so many of his fans, I have placed him on a high pedestal for so long that I forgot to separate his larger-than-life personality from him, the individual.
His latest interview that has gone viral is one such lesson that reminded me that our heroes are flawed human beings too, and we should not worship them to the point of being blind to their fallacies.
Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay, an international day for global mental health education, awareness, and advocacy against social stigma. It was unfortunate that I came across this trash talk on such an important day. His talk shows how little importance we Indians give to mental health.
He couldn’t be further from the truth when he said, “These are American words–pressure, depression. I don’t understand all this. I am a farmer who enjoyed playing. If you enjoy, how can there be pressure?
When did “pressure” or “depression” become American terms? Last I checked, these terms were universal and anyone from across the world could be afflicted by them. I am certain Americans don’t hold a monopoly over them! And certainly, Kapil Dev’s lack of understanding of these conditions does not make these terms “American.”
According to him, if a player is passionate, he shouldn’t feel pressurised. How is that a fair statement? Are passion and enjoyment enough to keep the pressure at bay?
I am passionate about my craft, work, and family; does it make me immune to pressure? NO!
If this poor jab at the players wasn’t enough, he had the audacity to mock today’s generation of students for being “fortunate.” He narrated an instance of a recent visit to a school where grade 10 and 12 students mentioned being under pressure.
This is a verbatim translation of his Hindi words – “You are studying in AC schools, your parents pay the fees, teachers cannot indulge in corporal punishment, and you are under pressure!”
I was appalled at his statement and the response it garnered. The sheer enjoyment of his co-speaker, Saina Nehwal, the host, and the audience and the applause filled me with rage. None of them bothered to correct the speaker and rather went on a giggling spree.
Isn’t this a callous mockery of our kids’ struggles? I am a mother of two teens, and I know from personal experience, pressure, and depression aren’t alien words. These are very much a part of our lives.
Just because a child studies in an AC classroom or has parents who can afford to pay the school fees does not alleviate their suffering. Every school-going child, and especially a teenager, is under tremendous pressure. Their struggles are way too different from what their parents or grandparents faced.
Just because our kids are not wading through rivers to reach school or have electricity or aren’t getting thrashed by teachers does not mean they are free from pressure. It’s just that they are facing a different kind of struggle.
The struggle to score marks, get admission to the best of universities, fit in, yet stand out, and not succumb to peer pressure is very much real. Anxiety, depression, fear of failure are the demons they battle every day.
Our emotional, psychological and social well-being is affected by many factors. Leading a comfortable life doesn’t make one immune to negative emotions or struggles.
Mental health is a sensitive topic. It takes a lot of courage to talk about it. And attitudes like these are certainly not helping create a conducive environment to talk about mental health openly. Mocking such serious issues should not be encouraged at all.
I am unsure why Mr. Kapil Dev is so far from understanding today’s kids’ realities, but such contempt is certainly not conducive to creating a positive environment. This kind of crass mockery would discourage many from seeking help.
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What I loved was how there is so much in the movie of the SRK we have known, and also a totally new star. The gestures, the smile, the wit and the charisma are all too familiar, but you also witness a rawness, an edginess.
When a movie that got the entire nation in a twist – for the right and wrong reasons – hits the theatres, there is bound to be noise. From ‘I am going to watch it – first day first show’ to ‘Boycott the movie and make it a flop’, social media has been a furore of posts.
Let me get one thing straight here – I did not watch Pathaan to make a statement or to simply rebel as people would put it. I went to watch it for the sheer pleasure of witnessing my favourite superstar in all his glory being what he is best at being – his magnificent self. Because when it comes to screen presence, he burns it, melts it and then resurrects it as well like no other. Because when it comes to style and passion, he owns it like a boss. Because SRK is, in a way, my last connecting point to the girl that I once was. Though I have evolved into so many more things over the years, I don’t think I am ready to let go of that girl fully yet.
There is no elephant in the room really here because it’s a fact that Bollywood has a lot of cleaning up to do. Calling out on all the problematic aspects of the industry is important and in doing that, maintaining objectivity is also equally imperative. I went for Pathaan for entertainment and got more than I had hoped for. It is a clever, slick, witty, brilliantly packaged action movie that delivers what it promises to. Logic definitely goes flying out of the window at times and some scenes will make you go ‘kuch bhi’ , but the screenplay clearly reminds you that you knew all along what you were in for. The action sequences are lavish and someone like me who is not exactly a fan of this genre was also mind blown.
Recent footage of her coming out of an airport had comments preaching karma and its cruel ways, that Samantha "deserved her illness" because she filed for divorce.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu fell from being the public’s sweetheart to a villain overnight because she filed for divorce. The actress was struck with myositis post divorce, much to the joy of certain groups (read sexist) in our society.
A troll responded to Samantha’s tweet, “Women Rising!!” by adding to it “just to fall”. She replied, “Getting back up makes it all the more sweeter, my friend.”
Here’s another insensitive tweet by BuzZ Basket showing fake concern for her autoimmune disease. “Feeling sad for Samantha, she lost all her charm and glow. When everyone thought she came out of divorce strongly and her professional life was seeing heights, myositis hit her badly, making her weak again.” Samantha responded, “I pray you never have to go through months of treatment and medication like I did. And here’s some love from me to add to your glow.”
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