After Kushal Punjabi lost his life and left everyone shocked, it was revealed that he was suffering from depression. Depression claims many lives every year and actor Karan Jotwani says that it never really goes away. The actor has struggled with the demons of depression and talked his heart out to BT in an interview.
“I was in depression for a phase in my life. I believe people should be more vocal about mental health,” Karan said.
Asked if he is in a better space now, Karan said: “To be very honest, it keeps coming back, but I am more aware (about it). I detach now. I don’t get involved very heavily. There is nothing bigger than life Â… This is who I amÂ… Like I was reading Deepika Padukone‘s interview the other day that it kept coming back to her while shooting for ‘Chhapaak‘ . She had a psychiatrist on set and Ranveer (Singh) was on set for her, because she was doing those kinds of scenes which brought it back.
“It never goes away. It comes back in some form or the other, but you need to channelise your mind and just hope that a relapse doesn’t happen because it can be pretty bad.”
The actor was last seen in TV show “Aapke Aa Jane Se”, about a young guy falling for an older woman. He will now be seen in “Qurbaan Hua”, an intense family drama which will air on Zee TV.
Actor Kushal Punjabi‘s suicide has brought the issue of mental health in showbiz, particularly the television industry, to the forefront. Karan feels the issue gets into spotlight only when “someone commits suicide”.
“Deepika has always been open about mental health. Otherwise, we have to wait for somebody to die, we wait for somebody to commit suicide and then we talk about it. Kushal Punjabi passed away and we spoke about it for a week and then stopped. I agree it is a busy world, but we need to put out a message stating that people are there for them.”
Karan asserted that the “problem today is that nobody wants to listen”.
“Everybody wants to give some ‘gyaan’ that ‘tum aisa karo, waisa karo, per day kamao aur ghar jao’. People can have a different mindsetÂ… You don’t know what is going on in someone’s mind. I shot with Kushal Punjabi. We were doing a small collaboration for ‘Guddan’, ‘Yeh Teri Galiyan‘ and ‘Aapke Aa Jane Se’ Â… What a jovial guy and it is the least you expect.
“I think it is very important to be there and listen to people. Everyone has a story and people nowadays don’t want to talk only because they feel people will judge. They need to understand that there are people out there who really care and listen to you and will not judge you.”
Opening up about himself, Karan said: “I like to spend time with myself. I have made peace with that. I have gotten closer to myself which is very important and I am out there telling people that mental health is a big deal.”
