Bollywood: Deepika Padukone donates Dh75,500 for acid attack survivor's treatment

AFP

Mumbai - Acid attack survivor Bala was featured in actor's film, Chhapaak

By Web Report

Published: Sat 4 Sep 2021, 11:42 AM

Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone has donated Dh75,500 (Rs1.5 million) to acid attack survivor Bala, who also featured in Chhapaak, along with her.

“Acid attack survivor Bala found new hope, as Deepika Padukone extended a helping hand to save her life,” said Ashish Shukla, director, Chhanv Foundation, which is raising funds for her.

“Bala, who is suffering from a life-threatening kidney disease, urgently needs a kidney transplant to survive. Word reached Deepika and she donated an exceedingly generous amount of Rs1.5 million to the ‘Save Bala’ campaign.”

The campaign has been launched on a crowdfunding platform. Bala, who is being treated at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, also featured on Kapil Sharma's show and has inspired other acid attack survivors.

According to the foundation, “Her condition is deteriorating every day due to the failure of both her kidneys and she is somehow surviving on dialysis. Without a kidney transplant, she won’t live to see another day. Being an acid attack survivor, her weakened immunity is already a threat to her life.”

Chhanv’s ‘Smile Goal Hai’ campaign aims to help more than 150 other survivors of acid attacks. “If more generous people like Deepika Padukone come forward to help these survivors, lives can be transformed,” said the foundation.

Incidentally, in January 2020, Deepika took part in a social experiment with the Chhapaak team and collected 24 bottles of acid from several shops in Mumbai, indicating how easy it was to buy the deadly stuff.

While Deepika monitored them along with a camera crew from a car, the members went around shops buying acid without encountering any problems.

Many of the actors asked shopkeepers for the strongest acid, “which can burn somebody’s skin,” and they were given the stuff without any problems.