Deepti Naval opens up about battling depression after marriage

Bollywood veteran Deepti Naval has recently dished on struggling with depression after she got married as she stopped getting roles in the movies.

“I stopped getting roles when I got married. It was as if my talent had been completely washed out,” said Rang De Basanti star at the English Sahitya Aaj Tak 2022 held in Delhi via India Today.

Deepti, who married movie-maker Prakash Jha in 1985 and got divorced in 2002, continued, “That happened, I went through that phase. There were several years when I had no work. I didn't know what was happening because I always saw myself as an artist.”

“If you don't get to work or create, then who are you? I had to find my way back. That was one of the things that caused me depression,” recalled the 70-year-old.

Deepti also spoke up about “casting couch” and how Bollywood has “reinvented” over the years, stating, “Bollywood is reinventing. Today, there are all these casting directors and you don't get access so easily to the producers and the directors. There is a whole system that everything has to go through the casting directors.”

“The industry is going through a huge change right now. It is also facing a lot of flak. The casting couch was always there. The concept of insiders and outsiders was also there earlier to an extent. But it was not talked about,” explained the actress.

Deepti added, “You had to find your way in the industry by skirting around these issues. You knew it existed.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, the actress will be next seen in new movie Goldfish alongside Kalki Koechlin.