“Watching this trailer took my breath away."
Acid attack survivor and activist Katie Piper applauded Deepika Padukone’s upcoming film, Chhapaak (2020).
In March 2008, Katie fell victim to a brutal acid attack. Sulphuric acid was thrown over Katie, leaving her face severely burned.
The attack was plotted by her then ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch and was carried out by a paid accomplice Stefan Sylvestre.
Daniel Lynch arranged to meet Katie at an internet café, however, this was a ploy. Upon Katie arriving, Sylvestre threw acid in her face. The treacherous attack was caught on CCTV camera.
As a result of this incident, Katie Piper suffered severe burns and was blinded in her left eye. She underwent numerous skin graft treatments.
Chhapaak starring Deepika revolves around the life of real-life acid attack survivor, Laxmi Agarwal.
The parallel between the life of Katie and Chhapaak struck a chord with the activist. Katie Piper went on Twitter to praise the trailer of the film. She wrote:
“Watching this trailer took my breath away. I had to watch 3-4 times for it all to sink in. This film explores what it really means to survive an acid attack in India.”
Katie continued to explain the story of the film. She said:
“Based on true events the film follows Malti’s (Deepika) traumatic medical journey and her fight for justice in a legal battle against her attacker a man who couldn’t cope with her rejecting his advances.
“Malti’s face is permanently scarred but not her spirit, that is unbreakable. An untold story of trauma and triumph.”
@deepikapadukone
@masseysahib @meghnagulzar @Thelaxmiagarwal @alokdixit17 @foxstarhindi @mrigafilms @_KaProductions pic.twitter.com/ANs22MmFvb— Katie Piper OBE (@KatiePiper_) December 12, 2019
In response to Katie Piper’s tweet, Deepika also took to Twitter to acknowledge the recognition. She tweeted:
“Thank you so much for your shout out Katie and I look forward to meeting you sometime soon!”
https://twitter.com/deepikapadukone/status/1205084029046771712
Katie replied to Deepika’s tweet saying:
“I feel so hopeful for the change your movie will make in society. Thank you. I’m looking forward to meeting you.”
Katie refused to allow the unfortunate attack to define her. She went on to become a published author with several books including, Beautiful (2011), Things Get Better (2012) and Confidence (2016).
Alongside being a published author, Katie Piper was also a television presenter on Channel 4 shows, Bodyshockers (2014) and Never Seen a Doctor (2016).
Chhapaak is due to hit the big screen on January 10, 2020. We look forward to seeing Bollywood tackle this harsh reality faced by society.
Watch the trailer of Chhapaak here:
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