Karan Johar opens up about battle with depression

KJo reveals he's made peace with not having a life partner


Entertainment Desk September 27, 2016
Karan reveals that he is not just a shining star in Bollywood as he has his inner struggles . PHOTO: JUST BOLLYWOOD

After Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone opened up about battling depression, filmmaker Karan Johar has revealed he too suffered with clinical depression.

In an interview to NDTV, the producer revealed he has been suffering from anxiety and depression which he realised when he went to the doctor for what he thought was a cardiac arrest.

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"It was the darkest period of my life. I can’t explain the pain, anxiety, anguish. [I felt] helpless. Unhappy. Sad. Wanting to get onto a flight, always leaving the city… and walking the streets of other cities with nothing to say to anyone. Not even getting out of my bed from my hotel room sometimes," KJo said.

The 44-year-old was taking medication and seeking help for it until three months ago but now, he said, the medics have stopped.

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Karan shared that he was not able to share the pain with anyone. "I wasn’t able to share this with anyone. I was making up meetings and reasons for me to leave the city. I found comfort in sleeping on a long-haul flight, waking up in a city where I didn’t have to meet people," he said.

He also said that it was difficult to determine whether the love he shared with people from the industry was genuine or only for the sake of the film. "When you are 44 and lonely and are not in a relationship, it gets you worried. Because all the success that you've achieved means nothing if you cannot take it to someone else."

The director said, "You don't feel happiness, or excitement, or any such emotion. I went through that and nobody other than you knows what you're really going through. But now, after treatment and medication, those beats are coming back. The zing is returning."

KJo said he's made peace with not having a life partner. "I have reached a 'so what' place. There are other things in life to find happiness and look forward to," he said.

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