Nepotism and favouritism can be discussed later; we need to talk about mental health now: Antara Mitra

The singer says that it is high time, people start taking mental health seriously otherwise it will be too late.

“I had posted about importance of mental health on my Instagram account the day before Sushant [Singh] passed away,” says singer Antara Mitra, pointing out the uncanny coincidence. After the death of Singh, conversations about mental health have gained immense importance in the society, but Mitra says that it is not enough. “After his death, everyone posted on their account: ‘I am just a call away’, etc., but in reality, nobody is actually just a call away. Not even your mother or your partner. They could be busy at the exact moment when you need to speak to them, and that’s why I started the campaign, #getyourselfatherapist. More of than not, normal people are not equipped to deal with a lot of mental health issues and therefore, it is very important to have and speak to a therapist about anything that you are feeling,” says Mitra.

Antara Mitra has started a social campaign called #getyourselfatherapist

The singer, who has sung songs such as Gerua (Diwale; 2015) and Aira Gaira (Kalank; 2019) says that debates about nepotism and favouritism can wait, but it is high time that we start talking about mental health. “We have all the time in the world to talk about groupism and the unfair practices of the entertainment industry. But right now, we have to get rid of the taboo attached with mental health and having a therapist etc. People still find it uncomfortable to say that they are seeing someone or seeking help. And that is something that needs to be fixed. The government needs to ensure that every government hospital has a dedicated mental health ward where anybody can walk in without any apprehensions and talk about any discomfort they are feeling,” says the singer, adding that she got immense support from her music fraternity for this campaign.