Sherlyn Chopra Suggests Changes to Deepika Padukone's 'Repeat After Me' Slogan for Depression

As actress Deepika Padukone prepares to appear before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for interrogation after her name appeared in an alleged WhatsApp chat related to drugs, actor Sherlyn Chopra has suggested some changes to former’s ‘Repeat After Me’ slogan.

Chopra took to social media to tweak Padukone’s message on mental health and changed it to preventing drug abuse. In a video posted on her social media handle, Chopra claimed that according to global research, 90 percent of depression cases are related to drugs.

Chopra suggested that the slogan which Padukone uses should be changed and updated. “Repeat after me, Drug abuse leads to depression. Repeat after me, Narcotics indulgence is a criminal offence. Repeat after me, Narco-terrorism is illegal. Repeat after me, Drug abuse is unsafe, especially for the youth of the nation. Repeat after me, I will not engage in drug abuse,” she says in the video.

After actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide in June this year, Deepika had taken to social media to reiterate her message on mental illness. Her slogan was, Repeat after me: Depression is treatable, Depression is Curable, Depression is preventable.”

Besides Padukone, the NCB also summoned actors Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh to record their statements in connection with the agency’s investigation against the alleged “drug syndicate” that supplied “narcotics to Bollywood”.

Padukone’s name came up in the case after WhatsApp conversations reportedly between her manager Karishma Prakash and another person discussing drugs cropped up. In connection to the FIR registered to “bust the drug network in Bollywood”, the NCB has arrested actor Rhea Chakraborty and her brother besides 19 others.

Padukone has been a leading voice in starting a conversation about mental health and suffering from depression herself, she has used her experience in helping others. Her foundation Live Love Laugh, which was formed in 2015, works towards destigmatising mental illness and aims at providing support to people suffering from depression, anxiety, and stress. Her contribution towards promoting mental health also won her the prestigious World Economic Forum Crystal Award this year.