Deepika Padukone Is Set to Play an Acid Attack Survivor in Meghna Gulzar’s Upcoming Movie
Laxmi Agarwal who Deepika would be portraying is a TV host and a campaigner with Stop Acid Attacks. She was attacked in 2005 at the tender age of fifteen when she rejected the advances of a 32-year-old man.
Deepika Padukone will soon be portraying the role of an acid attack survivor- Laxmi Agarwal in an upcoming film directed by Meghna Gulzar. Here’s more.
After giving a sterling performance in ‘Padmavaat’, Deepika Padukone is all set to captivate her audience with her upcoming role as an acid attack survivor. Deepika’s fans will definitely be excited to witness the actress take up yet another challenging role and see her doing justice to it like she always does. What’s more interesting is that Deepika is coming on board as a producer of the film too. In an interview with a publication, Deepika Padukone said “When I heard this story, I was deeply moved as it's not just one of violence but of strength and courage, hope and victory. It made such an impact on me, that personally and creatively, I needed to go beyond and so the decision to turn producer. We look forward to commencing our journey on the film.”
Meghna Gulzar
The film industry has brought to light various social issues influencing and shaking our society, however, the subject on acid attack survivors is not something that has been touched upon in the recent past. This makes the movie worth watching.
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh announced the good news on Twitter with these words:
IT'S OFFICIAL... After #Padmaavat, Deepika Padukone teams up with #Raazi director Meghna Gulzar... Deepika will portray the part of an acid attack survivor in the film.
Who is Laxmi Agarwal?
Laxmi Agarwal who Deepika would be portraying is a TV host and a campaigner with Stop Acid Attacks. She was attacked in 2005 at the tender age of fifteen when she rejected the advances of a 32-year-old man- Gudda (Naeem Khan). The brave soul went on to gather 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb acid sales and she took it forward to the Supreme Court. Her efforts resulted in the central and state governments to regulate the sale of acid and it became easier to pursue the prosecutions of acid attacks. Something fruitful resulted from Laxmi’s pain in the gruesome attack and became a boon for all acid attack survivors. Laxmi is now the director of Chhanv foundation, an NGO dedicated to acid attack survivors.
When director Meghna Gulzar was asked why she decided to rope in Deepika Padukone for the role, she said “I was instinctively convinced that Deepika would do justice to the character and the story. Also, her physicality matched with what I'd imagined for Laxmi's character." Meghna revealed that Deepika was spontaneous in her decision to do the film. When a beautiful face like Deepika is portrayed as an acid attack victim, the “magnitude and violence is much more resounding”, she explained.
Just like Laxmi Agarwal, Deepika also runs an NGO ‘Live Love Laugh’ to help those battling depression, after she herself became a victim of the mental illness. It is thus understandable; why the actress was so spontaneous in portraying the role of an acid attack survivor as such victims undergo tremendous mental pain dealing with the consequences of the trauma. Besides physical, victims have to deal with psychological scars that take time to heal. After Deepika Padukone’s powerful portrayal as Rani Padmavati in ‘Padmavat’, we can’t wait to see how the charming actress embarks on a journey of yet another mesmerizing role.