The entertainment industry is not an easy place to be. While the glitz and glamour may seem alluring, it is a tough place when it comes to dealing with work, love and loss. The Saath Nibhana Saathiya 2 actress Sneha Jain agrees, yet she looks at it in a different way.
“Yes it is a tough place, but then every coin has two faces. We have seen so many beautiful couples in the industry like Riteish Deshmukh-Genelia D’Souza, Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt- Ranbir Kapoor… all these beautiful people are making a life together, starting families, and settling down. It’s not that you don’t get people, just that they are less in number whose relationships actually work. An actor’s life is difficult to keep up with, especially when it’s about giving time to one’s partner. A busy life doesn’t let you spend quality time together. Communication is the key to a healthy relationship. When one is too busy working on a project where they meet someone working with them, spending long hours talking and working together one often gets attracted. This at times is mistaken to be love and so the miscommunication starts in a relationship. You fight, you break up and get irritated at not managing your personal and professional life when the schedules are tight. It isn’t easy to maintain relationships in the industry, it happens in other industries too but here it happens often. The work hours are totally different and unpredictable. If you are working on the same show as your former partner yet you have to continue working because that’s a commitment. And it does become difficult to deal with that situation,” she says.
Heartbreaks lead to extreme reactions. Some people even end up taking drastic steps. The recent case is that of Tunisha Sharma, who reportedly ended her life over issues with her beau Sheezan Khan, who is also her co-star in the show Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul.
“If you break up and still have to work together then it becomes difficult. It is a bit easy if you don’t see the person but here you have to perform for the show together it’s really heartbreaking. When a person you love leaves you, you feel empty inside. And, there’s nothing that can fill the void. You become soulless and that phase of pain and depression is very difficult to bear and people don’t think twice before giving up. It seems to be the end of the world for them,” she adds.
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The uncertainty in the nature of work in showbiz also affects the mental health of those a part of the workforce. Agreeing, Sneha says, “Nowadays people are running behind fame and money. Just because they are on social media, they want to feel important and want to be the talk of the town. We are losing the natural form of life. People want to be in the spotlight and it’s affecting them big time. Not getting to work and sitting at home makes one sad and crazy. They feel invisible. Seeing other’s social media life they take it to be real and start judging themselves and scrutinise their own life. Rather than motivating themselves, insecurity creeps in. People should stop comparing their life to others and live their lives and not be hard on themselves. Everyone is doing good at their own pace, so have patience. God might have better plans for you. Stop taking it as a competition and start living your life. Give your 100 percent in anything you do. Balance life with work and leisure. Take a break between projects.”
The industry as a whole can help each other cope with mental health issues, the actress feels. “One should not feel embarrassed in asking for help from others for that matter their own family members or friends. Talk to the one person you feel comfortable talking to. Just ask for help. We should be there for people. I want to be the best version of a human being on this earth. We know the industry inside out, being there for each other is the least we can do,” she adds.
Speaking on Tunisha’s sudden demise at the age of 20, Sneha shares that whatever time she was spending at work and whatever she was going through, if she would have spoken to anyone, asked for help. “I think you should have friends from outside the industry, who love you unconditionally. No one on this planet deserves your life, to the level you kill yourself for someone that person doesn’t deserve that. You are precious and your life is more precious than anyone. If I had been in her life I would have told her to just quit the show if she found it difficult to work with the co-star. You need not give any validation for your reasons to quit. Work comes and goes, but life matters the most,” she ends.
