The Story of Laxmi Agarwal: The Acid Attack Survivor Portrayed By Deepika Padukone
It’s said that art mirrors life, and finds inspiration in it. So, when recently Deepika Padukone put up a post on her social media, revealing her look for her upcoming movie, it made for an arresting piece of art, which forced the spectators to look for its real-life inspiration. And when the inspiration itself is larger than life, then it’s no wonder that the artwork it inspired is generating such waves. I am talking about the real-life shero who is behind Padukone’s latest reel-life avatar — Lakshmi Agarwal.
A Childhood That Was Taken Away Too Soon
Imagine yourself at 15. What were your concerns then? Probably the classmate you had a crush on, or the pimple that surfaced at every inopportune opportunity, or maybe the board exams that you had to take.
Lakshmi too had similar concerns, but more than that she wanted to devote herself to the world of art. Sharing her story with a newspaper, she said “I had always wanted to be a singer or a Kathak dancer, but my father was a cook and we didn’t have enough money for lessons. When I took up the job, I thought I’d put some money aside to learn music. The day before the incident, I had spoken to the didi who conducted the music classes. I was supposed to attend my first lesson the next day. That day never came. (1)”
Why?
This is because a few men decided her life was inconsequential. She had been on her way to the bookshop, where she worked part-time, when a man, who at 32 was more than twice her age, accosted her along with two of his companions and threw a large beer bottle filled with acid at her for refusing his proposal. That was in 2005. But this was not the end for Lakshmi. Far from it, her story was just beginning.
The Struggle That Yielded A Leader
While she was still struggling with the aftermath of this horrific incident, and in need of immediate medical intervention — she came to need seven medical surgeries in order to lessen the severity of her burns and reconstruct her face, which had become badly misshapen as a result of the acid burn — she took on the battle to get the government to notice the plight of her and others like her.
In 2006, She filed PIL (Public Interest Litigation ) in the Supreme Court asking for an amendment in the laws meting out punishment for such offenses, along with compensation for the victims. She also asked the court to put a ban on the sale of acid across the country citing the increasing incidence of such crimes all over the country. This eventually led to the banning of the sale of the substance to anyone under the age of 18 in the country and also imposing a set of restrictions on its sale (2).
The Laurels That Followed
Deciding that the fight was bigger than her, Lakshmi went on to work as a coordinator for the Stop Acid Attacks foundation, which is where she met the love of her life, Alok Dixit, a social activist. Joined together by a cause bigger than them, the dynamic duo founded the Chhanv Foundation, an NGO dedicated to the rehabilitation of acid-attack victims. She even went on to co-own two cafes, called Sheroes, in Agra and Lucknow, along with Dixit.
Lakshmi went on to win laurels such as International Women Of Courage award, presented to her by Michelle Obama, in 2014, and NDTV Indian of the Year, which was presented to her by Ranbir Kapoor. She was even given the opportunity to be a TV presenter, when she was asked to host a show called Udaan, on New Express. A dream, which she nurtured since childhood, came true in the unlikeliest of circumstances (3).
Perhaps, the biggest laurel among these was when Lakshmi got a chance to have her own family. She got into a live-in relationship with Dixit and was blessed with a daughter, Pihu (4). It seemed that fortune finally had Lakshmi in good stead. But it wasn’t meant to last.
Like A Phoenix, She Rose From The Ashes
In 2018, the leading daily, Hindustan Times, published a report that detailed how Lakshmi had fallen upon hard times. Separated from her live-in partner, Alok Dixit, over some differences, she was struggling to make a livelihood and was on the verge of eviction from her residence (4).
Following this, a wave of support online and offline came to her rescue, with the likes of famous actors, such as Akshay Kumar and other private citizens coming to her aid, with offers of financial assistance, and job opportunities (5). This was soon followed by the offer of a biopic, on her life, directed by the famous director, Meghna Gulzar.
Today, she can be seen pursuing her cause with a renewed vigor, her own project “Stop Sale Acid” campaign. One only has to look at her social media profile to see a flurry of posts where she can be seen actively urging her followers to support her cause, which also won her the International Women Empowerment Award for 2019, given by IWES, UNICEF, Ministry of Women and Child Development, and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Needless to say, for Lakshmi, picture abhi baaki hai (6).
Be it dismissing patriarchal norms, or finding the strength to give other victims a voice, Lakshmi has consistently proven that she is no victim. And for this undying spirit of hers, we salute her.
