After a string of failures with films like The Lady Killer, Kuttey, and Ek Villain Returns, Arjun Kapoor was recently seen in the role of a villain in Singham Returns. The actor, in an interview, recently spoke about his mental health struggles and being diagnosed with mild depression and an autoimmune disease.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, when he was asked how he dealt with depression while doing the role in Singham Again, he said, “You will have moments of self-doubt in any profession and you fight through it. When films don’t pan out, those moments become days, then months and then years. You start doubting yourself, the negative always sounds louder. Moreover, being a fat kid creates a lot of mental trauma for years and you don’t realise that. Your equation with food and taking care of yourself.”
The actor also spoke about going for therapy to deal with all the mental and physical issues. “So, when I went through this phase, I started seeking therapy. I have been somebody who has taken responsibility, I don’t go and talk to people about it. I tried to deal with it the best way I could. The depression and therapy part started happening last year. This last one year was more personal than professional. I just knew something wasn’t working. I had even stopped enjoying watching films. My life was films and suddenly I started watching other people’s work and thought to myself, ‘Will I be able to or will I get a chance?” he said.
He also spoke about his physical health struggles. “I haven’t always opened up about it, but I also have Hashimoto’s disease (an autoimmune disease that damages the thyroid gland), which is an extension of thyroid. It’s almost like I can take a flight and gain weight because the body goes in distress. That happened to be when I was 30 and I defied it. My mom used to have it and my sister (Anshula Kapoor) also has it. I could see me and my body changing through the course of my films,” he added.
Arjun’s last film Singham Returns, also starring Ajay Devgn, Deepika Padukone, Tiger Shroff, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh and Akshay Kumar, is faring well at the box office.
