'If I am upset, anxious, I confide in someone': Shreyas Talpade talks about mental health awareness and depression [Exclusive]

Popular actor Shreyas Talpade is one of the finest actors we have in Bollywood, known for his acting prowess films like Shreyas has been part of films like Nagesh Kukunoor's Iqbal. Om Shanti Om, Dor, Golmaal 3, Kaun Pravin Tambe? and Housefull 2 among others. The actor has been receiving a great response for his recently released anthology web series 'Zindaginama', streaming on SonyLIV. In the show, Shreyas essays the role of a mental health advocate.

Not many know that the actor is also Shreyas Talpade, a brand ambassador and face of the Bombay Psychiatric Society. On the film front, the actor is also gearing up for Emergency, a

In an exclusive conversation with International Business Times, India, Shreyas Talapde spoke about mental health and its impact on society, the need for addressing depression and ADHD among other mental health-related issues, his upcoming projects and more.

IBT: Tell us about your web show 'Zindaginama'.

It is an anthology of six stories that deal with mental health. I believe it's a first of its kind where there are six different stories that talk about different mental health issues. So yes, I am very happy and proud to be a part of it.

IBT: Mental health is something which people still don't talk about, as an actor and public figure what do you have to say about taking care of mental health?

I think things have really changed from what it was when I was growing up to now. When I was growing up, I remember that anything to deal with mental health, there was only one word 'pagal'. But now, there's a lot more awareness about it. We know what the issue could be and we try to deal with it in that particular manner. Yes, the awareness needs to be a lot more. But, we have come a long way and things are changing so yes, positive things are happening on that front where we have started speaking openly about it. The stigma is reducing but it is still there to a certain extent.

IBT: Of late, the fake news of your demise surfaced on social media which led to stress among your fans and family, how did you tackle it?

There are all kinds of people in this world. I seriously feel that people who spread such kind of fake news and rumours about somebody's health or death seriously have mental health issues and need to be tackled immediately and treated with urgency. It stresses out the friends and family of the individual affected. The way I tackle it is that I try to clarify it on social media. Luckily, my friends, family and well-wishers did spread the message across that it was a rumour and it had nothing to do with the truth. We were upset with the news. You tend to forget about it and just pray to God that the people doing it, their mental health issues are sorted and cleared out for the better.

IBT: Not just as an actor , but as a common person, leaving aside work and other things, have you felt disheartened, and depressed and how do you deal with it?

See, I am an actor and I can't distance myself from that fact. So, if there's a particular episode of depression or me getting upset about certain things, there are a lot of chances that it's centred around my work. Normally also, there are a lot of things that happen in your life and you have to deal with them. Luckily, you know, I have an ecosystem where you tend to fall back on your family, friends, in-laws, immediate family, cousins and well-wishers. If you have grown up in an environment where you feel that there's some kind of support from these guys, then it really helps. It is important that you speak up, talk it out to someone you confide in. That person will either come up with a solution or he will come up with some other person who will come up with a solution. So, the best thing to do at such a time is to get it out of your system. Whether you speak about it to someone else or you write it down, it is important to get it out of your system. That's one of the best ways to deal with it and then, let some other individual guide you towards positivity and feeling motivated one more time to get out of depression. I guess my mantra is to speak it out.

IBT: Depression, sadness and various other aspects of mental health have often been neglected by people, do you think it should be taken seriously?

We have seen cases where these things have been neglected and we have seen what it leads to. We have seen cases of people getting away from families, families being broken, suicide and more. The consequences are pretty serious and so there's no point neglecting it. The earlier we accept it, the person himself, and the immediate family, and start treating and dealing with it, the better for everyone. My wife is a clinical psychologist and as far as kids are concerned, she has dealt a lot with kids and so it's important we notice it earlier in kids, accept it and start treating it. The treatment takes time but over a period of time, you see a very positive change happening in them so I think the first thing that we need to do is accept it and then start doing something about it. It's not about popping a pill that things will change. Maybe, in some cases of certain illnesses, it might happen. In my experience, mental illness takes a longer period to get cured and you have to patient and consistent enough with your medication. Then, you will definitely start to see changes.

IBT: Recently, Alia Bhatt opened up about her battle with ADHD, wherein she said she gets anxious a lot, with this more and more people are talking openly about mental health. As an actor do you think this topic needs to be spoken about?

I am glad Alia spoke about it. Even Deepika had spoken about it. We must speak about it. If not, it might lead to difficulty complications and further troubles. I think the best thing to do is be transparent. Just like we might have a broken shoulder or a fractured arm, this is another issue of illness and it needs to be told and spoken about so that there's transparency and people are aware of the illness that you have. It makes life easy for everyone involved.

IBT: How do you keep your mental health happy and healthy?

Like I have been speaking. It could be anyone your parents, partner, sibling, doctor anyone. It's important to speak to the person you can confide in and eventually, that person will surely help you. Just speak up and that's what I try to do. If I am upset or anxious about certain things, I try to speak it out to someone I confide in.

 IBT: Does box-office numbers matter to you?

They matter to the extent that it makes my producers happy. If he has invested a certain amount in the film, I want him to recover a certain amount and make a certain profit out of it so that the Producer stays there to Produce one more film. Because, every time a Producer makes a film, he gives jobs to almost 300 families and that's a big thing. That's why, we want more Producers to join the industry and that's the reason box office numbers do matter to me.