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Kushal Punjabi's suicide brings mental health to fore

Kushal Punjabi's untimely death has left his friends shocked. TV celebs like Kavita Kaushik, Mohena Singh, Karan V Grover have emphasised on reaching out to people who need help.

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New Delhi
December 27, 2019
UPDATED: December 27, 2019 18:49 IST
Kushal Punjabi
Kushal Punjabi's suicide has brought depression into focus.
Kushal Punjabi’s suicide came as a shock to his friends, who woke up to the unfortunate news. Kushal Punjabi’s body was found hanging at his Mumbai residence on December 26. The police found a suicide note at his house, where he hasn’t blamed anyone for his death. According to reports, the actor was suffering from clinical depression.
The news was a big shock for his friends, as Kushal Punjabi came across as a happy-go-lucky guy who was full of life. Kushal's suicide story brings back the conversation around celebrities, known for entertaining people, struggling with mental illness in their personal lives and not even talking about it openly. Trying to catch up with the fast-paced always hectic profession, stars don't even realise when mental illness creeps into their lives, leaving them grappling for some normalcy.
TV actress Kavita Kaushik, who’d worked with Kushal wrote about how it is important to talk to your near and dear ones. She shared a picture with Kushal Punjabi and wrote that that mental health is a serious issue.
"Depression is not a CRIME. We all are struggling with something or the other. Please talk, please don’t pretend to be happy when you are breaking inside, f*** the bloody pressure of showing the world that EVERYTHING IS OK! When it’s NOT!, Kushal was a fighter. He would be doing something new each time that we would connect, we were colleagues and not close friends but I know his family, his parents and sister, they are simple and good people. Why did no one see this coming? Cos mental health is a f**kin serious issue and people hide what’s really troubling them, each one of us as at some point is bound to be in a dark space!! That’s life! Now this wonderful guy is gone and all we can do is mull over why and why couldn’t but the fact is that there is so much judging, so much have to be relevant, maintaining the perfect image pressures we take on us and expect from others! Stop generalising every damn thing. Pls, be kind to each other, stay away from those who just gossip and bitch behind people’s backs and instead form a chain to protect and reach out. Talk pls. Kushal is gone and we can’t get him back but we can be there for anyone who needs support. I’m heartbroken but I’m there, anyone who wants to talk I'm HERE. You have created a dent in our hearts and gone Kushal, can’t imagine the pain of your family and close ones," Kavita posted.
Actor Karan V Grover wrote, "Wish we could've sat like this and just spoken once my friend! Unbelievable! Alone... Is the keyword...most awful one I say. Rest in Peace brother."
Mohena Kumari Singh, who was Kushal Punjabi's choreographer on Jhhalak Dikhhla Jaa, asked everyone to empathise and reach out to the people who need help. "All of us who knew him... Failed Him. Please reach out to those who need help. In this selfish world... look out for those smiles that are sad inside. Instead of finding faults in them and shunning them away. They probably need support or just words that might soothe some pain. All of us have had these thoughts sometimes...and believe me... it’s hell on earth, a few of us have gone to the edge and come back. I wish I knew better when I knew you Kushal. Rest in Peace." (sic)
Karan Patel who was shocked with news, wrote, "Guess it's true when they say, 'the happiest faces hide the most saddened hearts'. Seeing your spirit and zest for life, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that you will bid your final goodbye to life in a way that will send a chill down our spines every time we think of you."
"Most people even today have a lot of stigma. They go through a lot of discrimination in their heads... A lot of people are not able to come out and speak up because of various hesitation. One of the reasons is the age-old stereotyping around mental illness which still exists. It is better but it exists, then accessibility is an issue," psychiatrist Samir Parikh told IANS.
Social media feed is not a mirror to one's mental health. "One only puts up posts about the good things happening in our lives. There is a real self and portrayed self. No one will know that you are struggling with mental illness by looking at the social media feed," Parikh added.
There's still a lot of walls to be broken. "We have not been able to create an environment that makes people feel comfortable to talk about it. we say ke 'usne baat nahi kari', but don't realise that 'kya humse usko yeh feel karaya ke woh mental illness pe baat kar sakta hai bina kissi stigma ke'," Parikh noted.
(With inputs from IANS)

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