Karan Johar says he had a depressive episode during NMACC launch, rushed back home and wept in bed

Karan Johar launched the eighth season of his hit chat show Koffee With Karan on Thursday, at midnight. The season opened with real-life couple Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone on the couch. Deepika, being a vocal advocate for mental health, was asked about her own experience with depression, leading to Karan opening up about his own struggles. The filmmaker revealed that he had a major depressive episode as recently as in April during the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre launch. (Also read: Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh reveal wedding video on Koffee With Karan, 5 years after tying the knot. Watch here)

‘Till it happened to me’

Karan began the segment by revealing how he was sitting with Deepika and Farhan Akhtar in a helicopter when they were returning from Shah Rukh Khan’s birthday party in Alibaug in 2017. He watched Deepika break down in tears and cry in front of him for the whole journey. “I remember holding her hand right through. She just cried, I looked and thought ‘I don’t even know how this feels’… till it happened to me,” Karan said as Ranveer gave a shocked expression.

What happened at NMACC launch

Karan then explained what might have caused it. “I think there were three tough years of the pandemic and there was trolling and I didn’t realise that I was trying to be tough and resilient and brush things under the carpet.” He then recalled the NMACC episode. “The legit attack I had was at the NMACC launch,” he said as Ranveer exclaimed, “What?”

“I remember Varun (Dhawan) was staring at me. I was sweating, I didn’t even realise. He came to me, held my hand and asked ‘Are you okay?’ And my hands were shaking.” Ranveer reminded him that they even met that night.

How Varun Dhawan helped him

Karan said that Varun took him to a room where he did some breathing exercises. He thought he was getting a heart attack. “I got out of my long and elaborate jacket and I left in half an hour. I just went to my bed and I wept. I just cried and I didn’t know why I was crying.” Karan said that he then consulted his psychologist, who put him on medication. He added that he is well now.

Deepika then detailed her own experience with depression, something she has often talked about. She explained how Ranveer stood by her side patiently through it all, even as he felt ‘helpless’.

Deepika later launched her Live Love Laugh foundation which works towards spreading awareness of mental health.

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