Alia Bhatt's sister Shaheen Bhatt has attempted suicide on more than one occasion. And father Mahesh Bhatt, as usual, doesn't mince words when he talks about this issue. With more number of people are being diagnosed with some mental illness or the other with every passing day, around us, Bhatt senior gives the example of what he experienced much closer home. Daughter Shaheen was treated for clinical depression as she would feel low and has attempted to kill her own self.

While things look all glittery and glamorous in a star's life, very rarely do people see the real picture. Any sane person would assume that Shaheen has been blessed with a good family background and fortune with more than a comfortable life to enjoy. Why would she then be making an attempt to ruin her life?

“It’s a form of mental illness and it can be treated. When you suffer with diabetes then, you have to take insulin shots. Similarly, when you are prone towards depression then you need to consult a doctor who can treat you through medication but, I think in our country, we are lacking in generating awareness about mental illness. Almost in every household people are suffering from depression.” said Bhatt senior in an interview.

Giving the example of his own daughter Shaheen Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt said, “My daughter Shaheen, Alia’s elder sister, she, at the age of 16 discovered finally that she is suffering from clinical depression. In October, she is launching her own memoir in which she has talked about the kind of struggle she has gone through in that phase.”

He revealed that she was at the point where she thought about committing suicide. “She also came to a point of attempting a suicide at the age of 12-13 so this is the truth of my own house. Jiah Khan once came to us asking for work but that time somehow, we were not able to work with her, but later when she committed suicide and we visited her house it felt really bad,” he said.

-With inputs from IANS

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2018 11:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).