Swara Bhasker: Don’t understand the shame attached to mental health; life is hard

Swara Bhasker has established herself as a fine performer with successful films like Nil Battey Sannata, the Tanu Weds Manu series, Raanjhanaa, and Veere Di Wedding. She's also known to be very vocal about several issues on social media.

In an interview with Times of India, the actress spilled the beans on the importance to talk about mental health, how an actor can be frustrated despite being a successful star, and how there's a lot of uncertainty in the movie business.

She said, "I don't understand the shame attached to mental health. Do we ever feel ashamed of a fever? Life is hard; as an artist and as a freelancer it is even harder because everything in our life is always in a flux and insecure. There's a lot of uncertainty in this business. Everything about our life leads to anxiety."

She added, "No matter how big of a star you are, you're basically a freelancer. The most important thing is to recognise the reality of the world you live in and work in, and then to understand what effect it's having on you. I don't believe in being ashamed about things that are normal."

When asked about the one message she would like to impart to all the aspiring actors, she spoke, "It's really hard. So be prepared for a long and tough journey. But if you love the job that you are doing, it will not be pressurising. Also, equip yourself to be employable in some other thing than acting. If it doesn't work out, you should have a plan B. This is a hard life with a lot of failure and frustration. You can be the biggest star and still have moments of frustration and failure."

She continued, "Always remember that the world is big and beautiful and the film industry is a very small part of it. So, if God forbid, your Bollywood dream doesn't work out, it's okay. It is not a big deal. There are so many interesting things you can do. Chase your dreams but don't lose yourself in chasing your dream."