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It isn't the easiest task to talk about one's mental health issues but Deepika Padukone is one Bollywood star who's braved sharing her struggles with depression.

Speaking at an event in Mumbai this past weekend, the Padmavaat actor shared that she was motivated by a desire to be "honest" rather than "brave" when she first opened up about experiencing depression.

“For me coming out with my experience and sharing it with the world really was about being honest. At that point, four years ago, I didn’t think about it as being brave. I didn’t think that it was meant to be revolutionary,” she said.

While many people fear ridicule when talking about depression, the actor said that sharing her story with the world made her feel that “a huge weight is off my shoulders”.

“I felt completely transparent. There was no fear of being judged and today I think it just made me a much happier person. It made me understand how fragile life is. It’s made me much more sensitive to people’s thoughts, feelings and emotions,” she said.

But she also urged people to defer their judgment of others.

“We very easily judge people and label them. Everyone has a backstory…. it is very easy to say something about someone... But when you understand what someone has been through, it just makes you a lot more aware of the people around you,” she said.

Deepika added that it was her mother who realised that she needed professional help, highlighting the role of loved ones in helping people with depression.

“In my case, I didn’t know what I was feeling or going through and fortunately, it was my mother who was my caregiver and recognised my symptoms in the early stages... I was not feeling motivated anymore, I didn’t know why I wasn’t happy in my life and she was the one who took me to a counsellor who immediately recognised that I needed medical help,” Deepika said.

At the event, Deepika also had to shut down a reporter for asking her about her rumoured wedding with Ranveer Singh. The actor slammed the question as “insensitive”.