Raees Actress Mahira Khan’s Smoking Viral Picture With Ranbir Kapoor Reportedly Took A Toll On Her Mental Health; Says, ‘ I Had Panic Attack….’

During her conversation on the FWhy Podcast, the actress recounted the challenges she faced following the circulation of pictures showing her smoking with Ranbir Kapoor in 2017. In that same year of the film's release, Mahira dealt with unexpected criticism and backlash.

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She also spoke about URI Attack, Mahira said, "I had finished the film (Raees) and everything was going fine and then suddenly this attack (Uri attack) happens. Politically everything gets messed. With India, it is always political. But the fact that it could get this messy! I was not scared, but I was threatened. Constant tweets, in fact, I would get calls, and very scary ones. The only thing I wanted was that 'Okay fine I can't go to India to promote it (Raees), but I hope it releases in my country because I knew people would rush to watch it as he (Shah Rukh Khan) is loved here (in Pakistan)."

Reflecting on that period, Mahira revealed that she has been taking antidepressants for the past 6-7 years. She mentioned attempting to stop medication midway, which led her into a profound state of darkness. Mahira said, "That (backlash) brought out the anxiety and depression hidden inside me. That was a hard time for me. I felt attacked. The constant backlash… you are getting mean tweets, comments on their channels (Indian channels). That was a time my faith broke and I developed severe anxiety to the point that one day I had a panic attack and fainted. That’s the first time I went for therapy. But that didn’t work out, as I went to several therapists... that year was rough... I couldn’t sleep, my hands used to shake."

The actress further disclosed that this is her first time openly discussing her years-long reliance on medication. She mentioned seeking help through hospital visits during her journey of managing her mental health. She added, “I ended up in a psychiatrist’s office. She told me ‘We’ll talk about everything later, but I need you to know that you have manic depression’. This is the first time I’m saying that, I don’t know if I should. It’s been six-seven years, I’ve been on anti-depressants. I tried leaving them in the middle, and I went into a very, very dark space.”

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Mahira emphasized that everyone faces highs and lows, both joyous and difficult moments. She highlighted that clinical depression is akin to any other form of mental or physical ailment.