What-s the story of acid-attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal that Deepika Padukone is playing in movie -Chhapaak-? - letsdiskuss
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Aditya Singla

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What-s the story of acid-attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal that Deepika Padukone is playing in movie -Chhapaak-?


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In 2013, the Supreme Court of India put a ban on the sale of acid. This ruling came following the Public Interest Litigation filed by Laxmi Agarwal in 2006, a year after she was acid-attacked.


Laxmi Agarwal stands as an exceptional inspiration not just for women BUT also for men, in India and across the world.

There's a reason why she received International Women of Courage award by US First Lady Michelle Obama in 2014.

There's a reason why she received the International Women Empowerment Award 2019 from IWES and UNICEF.

And there's a reason why Bollywood is making a movie based on her story "Chhapaak" starring Deepika Padukone. (It will be released on January 10, 2020!)

Letsdiskuss (Courtesy: India Today)

In 2005, she was a 15-year old girl, living in Delhi, dreaming to be a singer. A 32-year old man wanted to marry her. She rejected his proposal but he kept making advances -- stalking her. And then one day, when on her way to a bookshop in Khan Market, this man who is more than double the age of Laxmi, attacked her with acid.

"I felt as if someone had set my whole body on fire. The skin was just coming off, it was like dripping, from my hands and from my face," Laxmi recalled in one of her later interviews to Daily Mail.

After the attack, she lay on the street until a taxi driver came to her rescue and took her to Safdarjung Hospital.

Laxmi stayed in the hospital for 3 months, going through multiple surgeries.

"When I first saw my face afterward, I was devastated. I had no face to speak of," she said in another interview later.

However, instead of letting this incident down, she rose and filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court in 2006. About 7 years later, SC ruled in her favor, banning the over-the-counter sale of acid.

(It's a whole different thing that acid remains readily available at various shops. And it's sold at very cheap! There's a reason why India remains a hotbed of acid attacks with the highest number of this crime in the world. In fact, between 2011 and 2015, the number of such cases rose from 83 to 349.)

Over the course, Laxmi Agarwal continued her fight against acid attacks, supporting the survivors. She started the #StopSaleAcid. She headed Chhanv Foundation, an NGO dedicated to helping the acid-attack survivors.

chhapak-first-look-letsdiskuss (Courtesy: Be an inspirer)

Of course, her story didn’t stop there. She fell in love with a man. Then they got separated. The couple didn’t marry but were in a live-in relationship and have now a daughter.

She struggled with society's judgment and sneaky glances. She struggled to find employment. She struggled with heartbreaks. She struggled to meet her ends, taking care of her daughter and mother. And she struggled with physical and psychological pain that the majority of us cannot even fathom.

And yet she remained valiant in her efforts. She is living. She is fighting. She is making a difference. And this is a true inspiration for all of us.

I am so glad someone in Bollywood got the sense to not make movies in line with nationalism/propaganda and cover something as exceptional and inspiring as the story of Laxmi Agarwal.



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