Actress Kalyani
is a well-known celebrity among the Tamil audience. She made her debut as a child artist in the movie
Alli Thantha Vaanam
, alongside
Prabhu Deva in 2001. Recently, the actress shared on her social media her memories of the day her mother died by suicide and requested that all the OTT platforms display the free mental health helpline 24x7.
In the post she shared, 'Trigger Warning: This petition has content that refers to death by suicide.
24 December, 2014: The Day I Lost Two Souls
What started off as a normal day turned into the most horrific day of my life. I lived next door to my mother, and, as per routine, was getting ready to go to the gym with her. Upon ringing her doorbell, she didn’t seem like her chirpy, active self. Something felt off, and she looked groggy. I asked her to get ready, gave her some lime juice, and went to get ready myself.
I returned 20 mins later to pick her up. I rang the bell several times. By now, my worst fears were looming over me; - something did not feel right. I managed to break the door open. The dogs were no longer barking and could not be seen.
I ran inside, only to find my mother had hung herself and died by suicide. I was 23-year-old, and my life changed forever that day.
My mother was my best friend, and I could not imagine a world without her in it. I felt my soul also died that day. My mother’s diary revealed that she had been sad for a long time. If only she had told any of us.
Lost, and feeling hopeless, I too tried to take my own life. I tried to seek help - calling local helplines, but no one picked up. My husband found me, and helped me, and today, with all the help I have gotten, I am doing fine.
There must be so many people out there who are trying to get help but are not able to because no one is answering the helpline. And I want to change that. No one should lose their mother because they could not get help.
And the first step towards changing this is making sure everyone knows about Kiran, the national suicide prevention helpline. OTT platforms are a welcome addition to the lives of millions of viewers around the world. Based on a study, India will have over 500 million OTT subscribers by 2023, with content that primarily caters to the 15-35 year old age group.
I want the 24x7 free telecounselling mental health helpline to be displayed across all Indian OTT platforms' (Sic) .
Start a Conversation
Post comment