In a raw and deeply personal reflection, Anisha Padukone opened up about her sister Deepika Padukone’s highly publicized battle with severe depression and anxiety in 2014. Speaking to the Press Trust of India (PTI), Anisha detailed how the family was initially caught completely off guard, turning a painful family crisis into a lifelong mission for mental health advocacy.
1. Caught Unaware by the Signs
Anisha confessed that when Deepika first began slipping into clinical depression, she lacked the clinical vocabulary and awareness to realize what was happening.
Anisha Padukone: “For me personally, I was not aware enough about the signs and symptoms to be able to understand what she was really going through. The fact that we didn’t live in the same city also didn’t help, and I am really caught unaware and off guard.”
As a professional athlete, Anisha noted that her upbringing had strictly conditioned her to prioritize physical fitness, nutrition, and mechanical recovery. Deepika’s diagnosis served as a harsh awakening that emotional and psychological well-being required just as much active, intentional maintenance.
2. The Critical Intervention
Deepika has previously shared her side of that frightening period, describing how isolation in Mumbai exacerbated her condition. The turning point came during a routine family visit from her mother, Ujjala Padukone.
When her mother was preparing to head back to Bengaluru, Deepika suddenly collapsed into an uncontrollable crying fit. When pressed about whether it was career stress or relationship trouble, Deepika could only express a profound, hollow sense of helplessness, famously admitting she simply “didn’t want to live.”
Her mother immediately recognized that this wasn’t standard exhaustion or sadness, bypassing the heavy societal stigma in India to immediately connect Deepika with a qualified psychologist.
3. Turning Pain into Public Advocacy
Deepika’s recovery eventually led to the birth of the Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLL), a non-profit organization where Anisha now serves as a key figure. The foundation works to de-stigmatize mental illnesses, train primary care physicians to spot early signs of depression, and provide corporate and rural mental health toolkits across India.
4. Deepika’s Cinematic Pipeline (2026)
While mental health advocacy remains a massive pillar of her public life, Deepika continues to be one of Indian cinema’s most bankable flagships, currently juggling a packed 2026 shooting calendar:
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King: She has just wrapped up a massive, high-octane international shooting schedule in South Africa, starring alongside Shah Rukh Khan.
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Raaka: An upcoming, big-budget mass action thriller directed by blockbuster filmmaker Atlee, currently in active pre-production.
