Lauren Gottlieb opens up on '6 worst months' involving ABCD 2 & battle with mental issues

Lauren Gottlieb has not been seen on the big screen for over two years. A tough phase prompted this 'sabbatical' for the actor-dancer. The challenging period involved loneliness, mental issues, alcohol and more. After a two-year journey to find her feet again, she now seeks to return with a bang. 

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In a recent interview with a tabloid, Lauren opened up on the tough time she faced in the Hindi film industry. The actor revealed that she was ‘sad and unhappy’ deep down, though she continued to present a happy-go-lucky face on social media. She even shared that her situation forced her to seek solace in alcohol and prescription drugs. After her unpleasant experiences in India, she had returned to New York.

However, being balled up on the floor once made her realise that she needed help, after which she confided in her friend. Lauren then shared that she visited a therapist and took a break of eight months. The actor-dancer says she felt as if she was ‘stuck deep down a hole’, feeling like a ‘victim’, ‘desperately’ wanting someone to rescue her from the situation. The ABCD star added that it took her a while to understand that things were happening for her and not to her. 

READ: WATCH: Varun Dhawan Celebrates 4 Years Of ABCD 2 By Recreating Big B's 'Muqaddar Ka Sikandar' And It’s Hilarious

Any Body Can Dance had brought her instant popularity, and Lauren admitted that she fell into the ‘trap of fame and fortune’, getting ‘greedy’ in the process. However, that was not the case with Any Body Can Dance 2. With ABCD 2, Lauren said that she was ‘sidelined completely’, also from the promotions, and that was not all, she claimed her portions were edited out as well. She termed his entire phase as the ‘six worst months’ of her life, that also included her stint on Jhalak Dikhlaa Jaa.

She also said she had a 'distant' relationship with the director Remo D’Souza, who she could not get any support from. The actor-dancer added she didn’t find anyone who she could call family and that she was lied to by everyone. Lauren also claimed that different stories were told to her by people, including by Remo who told her she had ‘’messed up’ by choosing to play Olive, the American-Indian dancer, instead of the lead character Vinnie.  

She said loneliness turned out to be greatest undoing. Lauren shared that people clicking her pictures would unsettle her, though ideally she hoped people would come and talk to her. She would thus try to hide herself from people, a phase she termed as ‘terrifying.’ 

Lauren’s battle with mental issues, however, had started much before she had come to India. The competitive nature of the reality show So You Think You Can Dance when she was a 15-year-old brought lot of stress, self-doubt, anxiety and isolation in her life. The actor-singer had then resorted to prescription drugs. She claimed she was ‘mentally unwell’ by the time she had reached India.     

It was only in June this year that she returned to India. However, she kept aloof even after her return and didn’t interact much with anyone after work. She added that she felt vulnerable and scared and even parted ways with her partner during this phase. She said she couldn’t recognise her Indian self, as she was ‘doing a weird dance’ between her two selves.

Words of Will Smith, who said success doesn’t necessarily bring confidence since the stakes were high and fear of failure loomed large, helped her. Lauren then realised she was putting herself down while trying to perfect herself. She realised then that she had to take a step back and find herself.       

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Looking forward 

Today, Lauren Gottlieb had found help in the form of books, podcasts and meditation, that made her indulge in self-love, after two years of effort for reinvention or a rebirth. She now plans to travel the length and breadth of the country for the next three weeks, to share her experiences, listen to people’s stories and share happiness with them. She added that this act of giving had helped her in finding self-love. Now, Lauren is eager to get to work with renewed vigour, she said in the interview.

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