BE LIKE SIDDAMMA
Matty, a 15-year-old boy was diagnosed with brain tumour in 2016, and his cancer has relapsed thrice since then, which meant, no going out! But his aunt made sure that he doesn’t feel lonely, so she came up with an idea of letters from the lockdown and requested people to write letters to cheer him up. Within no time, he had 800 letters and postcards including videos from Tim Peake, British astronaut and Jamie Vardy, English footballer. this and how you end up being distraught and cut up by peers. You feel isolated and things drive you to a point where you take your own life.”
Talking about the investigation, the director says these things take time as one has to make sense of all factors.
“Now, things like his personal relation, accounts, his mental health are being looked at. It could be all of them put together, which we will know in due course. It is a huge question mark as of now. But, the film industry can surely learn lessons from this case. In this business, the pressure can kill you as you have a public image. As for the coverage, we should take a back seat and let the authorities do their job but also not let the case be forgotten like many others in the past,” he signs off.
Hats off to gritty 110-year-old Siddamma who recovered after testing positive for Covid-19 in Chitradurga, Karnataka. When she was asked whether she was scared after testing positive, Siddamma said, “I am not afraid of anyone.” This shows her fearlessness and her belief in herself. Her courage is truly inspiring and tells us about how a positive thought process can lead to a healthy body.
Send your Six Shots entry to htcity@hindustantimes.com Compiled by Swati Chaturvedi
Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise has put the spotlight back on mental health, as it’s being alleged that the actor was “clinically depressed and bipolar”. While it’s good that such conversations are happening, actor Shama Sikandar feels that these discussions are getting “shallow”.
“People are making a joke out of mental illness. Everyone is talking about Sushant’s mental health. But did you know him personally? I didn’t, so I can only talk about the issue,” says Sikandar, who battled depression and spoke about being a bipolar.
She is surprised how those who don’t know much about it are openly expressing their opinions. “Everyone is talking about it, but what do you know about it? Ask me, I’ve been through it,” she says, adding, “Don’t mix mental health with what you think is a murder or suicide. If Sushant is being wronged, I also want a CBI enquiry. But why speculate before investigation is done?”
Referring to the theory that Rajput didn’t leave a suicide note and that’s why a foul play is being suspected, Sikandar says, “I also didn’t when I tried to commit suicide. I told my mother I wanted to rest, went to my room, took sleeping pills and went to bed. When I didn’t wake up for hours, my family found out. I’m not saying Sushant took his life. I’m saying you don’t know how someone who’s suffering behaves.”
Urging people to not make fun of such ailments, she adds, “Hum mazak mein bolte hai, tujhe depression hai kya!? It does affect the other person. Not everyone wants or knows how to talk about it.”
She adds, “Those claiming to be Sushant’s friends, where were they when he needed them? Why is someone understood only after his death? Extend this love when the person is alive. Hope these discussions would make people more aware about such things.”