I can’t fathom the pain and fear: Sandhya Mridul on domestic abuse – bollywood

Recently actor Sandhya Mridul launched a video campaign urging survivors and witnesses to come forward and speak against domestic violence. With a spike in such cases during the lockdown, Mridul feels we all need to do our bit and help. 

Talking about the campaign, she says, “I read some scary statistics of violence against women, children and rape. Violence can be sexual, mental, physical and it bothered me. It frightens me that there are people stuck in those situations. There are days when I feel, I am lonely and this is so hard, so imagine being stuck in a situation where you can’t get out. I can’t fathom the pain and fear. It makes me emotional even to speak about it.

There are days when I feel claustrophobic in my own house being alone, but imagine the kind of emotional claustrophobia one would feel if they are stuck with someone who is hurting them. So when I was approached for the campaign, I jumped at it.”

Her peers, friends and seniors from the industry, “who are compassionate”, shared the campaign giving it more traction. “It’s about putting information out there, telling people we are listening and giving them a little strength to speak up. Via the campaign, we are trying to reach out to as many people as possible. I know you can’t save everyone but you can try to save some people. This is the time to help people who are less privileged than us. Yes, we all have financial stress, commitments and expenses but I want to be a part of stuff that makes a difference and be a compassionate voice,” says Mridul.

Personally, writing and being creative has helped the actor. She even spoke at a platform on dealing with anxiety and depression as she is “prone to it and understands it”. “In the lockdown some days are great but others are tough. I feel joy, fear, anxiety, peace, understanding, love, compassion on different days. It’s a mixed bag just like life. This is an extreme situation laced with panic. I am alone away from my family, so it gets hard sometimes but being alone, I am also fully focused on self-care,” she signs off.