At this time when mental illness among celebrities is in focus, Nandini Rai has shared her harrowing experience of depression a few years ago.
The actress said lack of offers and failure to get recognition were the prime reasons why she felt dejected.
“I had a promising start to my career, with three big films initially in 2012, but some of the projects were shelved and a few did not work out,” Nandini said, adding that it was then that she started feeling the pinch of the lack of success.
The actress revealed that she had pinned her hopes on Mosagallaku Mosagadu (2015), but that did not do well either. She slipped into depression.
“Believe me, I got suicidal thoughts; I wanted to jump from my terrace or cut my wrists. I spent several sleepless nights thinking about my life, my career and other personal issues. I was all over the place and literally clueless,” she recalled, adding that she decided to see a psychiatrist after suffering for two years.
“I spoke to a psychiatrist and had several counselling sessions. I decided to fight my way back and be a winner. I wanted to be a better human being,” the actress said.
Nandini said she did not understand why she was not recognised. “A few films were offered to me but they went back on the offers, and that’s when I felt a lot of pressure. I realised that nothing was going my way and started doubting myself and eventually went into depression,” she recounted. She said she had tried several physical makeovers but nothing worked.
The Maaya star stressed that mentally, one has to be very strong to fight depression. So, what did she do to come out of depression, we ask.
“I started getting more pets at home and spending time with them,” replied the actress. “I started investing in the share market and started to learn more about it. I started speaking to my parents a lot more and took up kick boxing as a hobby. It was also then that I got into Bigg Boss (2018).”
Being an MBA graduate from London University, she wanted to have a successful career, she said, but “This depression haunted me. But I did not give up and fought till the end and I came out of it successfully,” she shared excitedly, adding that she now has two films in Tamil and Malayalam.
