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Published 20:11 IST, April 30th 2019

Alia Bhatt's sister Shaheen shares a 'heartbreaking' incident in her book 'Never Been (Un)Happier' that 'affected her self-worth'

Shaheen Bhatt opens up about her battle with depression.

Reported by: Chetna Kapoor
null | Image: self

In an interview with a popular film-critic recently, Alia Bhatt's elder sister Shaheen spoke about an uncomfortable incident that took place when she was asked by a photographer to move aside from a picture with Pooja and Alia because she was 'dark' and a little 'overweight in comparison to them.

For those unaware, Shaheen in 2016 revealed that she had been suffering depression since the age of 12. She recently launched her book titled 'Never Been (Un)Happier'. Earlier in a report, Shaheen had spoken about her struggle with depression and stated that she has been living with it, since she was 12 years old, and she has been suicidal on more than one occasion. She further spoke about how she would always be consumed by the terrifying thought of having unrelenting anguish, hoping to get an escape from a bleak and unbearable future. 

Shaheen in response to the given incident said: "It’s making me unconformable right now as you are talking about it. You know, women, in general, suffer a lot….Shame I think is the core of depression and it could be any form of shame, and with women, I think body image also tends to be one of the causes for shame."

She further added: "Shame is central and I wish I could make people understand that shame is central to any kind of negative feelings, depression and sadness. It stops you from being vulnerable and you constantly fear that if you will show yourself as you are, you will be rejected by society. And my self-worth was definitely affected because I was at an age where the seeds of that were sown in me. I was just trying to figure out who I was and obviously when something like this happens to you at such an unsure and uncertain time in your life, it sort of reinforces that and sets in stone in a way." [sic], Shaheen was quoted as saying in the interview.

READ | 'My Daughter Shaheen Came To A Point Of Committing Suicide' Says Veteran Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt

Alia Bhatt shared the interview on her Twitter handle and wrote: "This is such a beautiful interview rajeev. If I may say so.. your best! My sister is so so so intelligent and even though I know most of these things she's mentioned she still manages to shake and move me with her honesty! A must must watch!" [sic]

 

Updated 20:18 IST, April 30th 2019

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