Amidst many actors speaking up against social evils, Deepika Padukone was the one who has been continuing her fight against one such evil – depression and mental health. The actress kicked off her own foundation Live, Love, Laugh that treats people with anxiety and depression and promotes mental health care. However, the actress is now taking up another cause but this time she plans to produce a film – that of acid attack victims. She wants to tell the story of the teenager Laxmi Agarwal who became an acid attack survivor at the tender age of 15.
Many would be aware that Laxmi Agarwal is a popular social activist and is currently working towards supporting acid attack victims. Considering that she herself is a survivor who faced the brutal crime at 15, she has currently been campaigning to help such victims across the country in as many ways as possible. Besides that, she has also been instrumental in bringing about a change in the law system which not only includes curbing of acid sales but also increasing the punishment of the ones committing the crime.
The story of Laxmi Agarwal will be retold by Meghna Gulzar, who in the past has brought forth some films like Talvar and the recent Raazi, inspired by real life stories; whereas, the role of Laxmi will be played by Deepika Padukone. This will be the actress’ next film after the historic and epic tale of Padmaavat.
Speaking of playing Laxmi, Deepika stated in recent reports that she was deeply moved by the story of the acid attack survivor. She pointed out that it is not just about the violent ways that are used to commit crime against women but it is also a tale of courage, strength of a woman who never gave up. She elaborated that the story was so impactful on her creatively and physically that she decided to take this step ahead as a producer.
For the uninitiated, Laxmi Agarwal was 15 when two men, Gudda and Naeem Khan threw acid on her whilst she was waiting at a bus stop in Delhi. It seems that Laxmi had refused the advances of the 32 year old and in a fit of rage, he committed this crime. After two years of staying at home and refusing to move owing to the scars, finally in 2006, Laxmi gathered the courage to file a case against reducing acid sales. Eventually in 2013, after the much talked about Nirbhaya case, the court changed many laws pertaining to protection of women and one of them was the PIL filed by Laxmi. She is currently running the Chhanv Foundation to help acid attack survivors.
