Shah Rukh Khan's Raees co-star Mahira Khan claims ban on Pakistani actors triggered depression in her

Mahira Khan spoke out about how the threat and criticism she suffered following the release of Raees triggered anxiety and depression in her.

Hyderabad: In a recent interview, Mahira Khan spoke about her mental health struggles and how a physician diagnosed her with manic depression. The Pakistani actor said she learned to face her mental health difficulties after breaking into Bollywood with Shah Rukh Khan's Raees and the 2017 incident in which photographs of her smoking with actor Ranbir Kapoor surfaced online. The actress stated that she suffers from bipolar disorder, which was triggered after Pakistani actors were barred from acting in India following the 2016 Uri attack.

Discussing the 2016 Uri attack, which resulted in a ban on Pakistani actors working in Bollywood, she said: "I had finished the film (Raees) and everything was going fine, and then this attack (Uri attack) happened. Everything gets twisted up politically. It is always political in India. But the fact that it could grow this complicated! I wasn't terrified, but I did feel threatened. Constant tweets and terrifying phone calls. The only thing I wanted was to say, "OK, fine, I can't go to India to promote it (Raees), but I hope it comes out in my country because I know people will rush to see it because he (Shah Rukh Khan) is so popular here (in Pakistan)."

Raees was released in 2017, the same year as the smoking photos scandal involving Ranbir Kapoor happened. Reflecting on that time, the actor stated she faced massive backlash. "That (backlash) brought out the anxiety and depression that were hidden inside me," Mahira said. "That was a difficult period for me. I felt as if I were being attacked. The ongoing backlash... you're getting rude tweets and comments on their (Indian) channels. My trust was shaken at the moment, and I suffered to the point where I fainted one day," she recounted.

Khan further said: "That was my first visit to a therapist. But that didn't work and I went to various therapists... that year was difficult... I couldn't sleep, and my hands used to quiver." Mahira described herself as a 'very hopeful person,' but she recognised that what she was going through couldn't be solved with prayers or spending time with friends. "Yes, everyone has happy and sad times, success and failure, but clinical depression is real," she explained.