Pallavi Joshi backs initiatives to help actors, children deal with anxiety
The second wave of the pandemic has hit everyone hard, especially taking a toll on mental health. At a time like this, Pallavi Joshi along with her husband, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, has launched initiatives for unemployed actors and children who have lost their parents.
She shares, “We got in touch with psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in the country. Every Sunday, we hold an open townhall with them where people from the film fraternity and the general public join in and ask questions.”
Joshi feels that the lack of work is primarily affecting people’s mental health. “A lot of stress comes from finances. But since they are creative artistes, they need to understand that this crisis is like a story and every story has a beginning, middle and end. The end will definitely come as soon as the vaccination programme is back on track,” The Tashkent Files (2019) actor says.
As for children, she emphasises that they are impressionable and the loss of a parent can have damaging consequences on them. Stressing on the need to be cautious while counselling them, she adds, “We don’t have the authority to create helplines for children. NCPCR has helplines for them, which we are amplifying. While dealing with them, one has to wear velvet gloves.”