Deepika Padukone Will Be Seen Essaying This Real Life Story Of Laxmi Aggarwal In Her Upcoming Film Chhapak

You must have seen her walking the ramp, receiving awards from Michelle Obama and being the face of courage, but Laxmi Aggarwal, the woman who Deepika Padukone is playing in her next film Chhapak, has a story that goes to prove that truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

Born in a middle-class family of Delhi, Laxmi developed an early interest in music. However, her father who worked as a cook at a local restaurant could hardly afford the music lesson. A determined young girl of 15 Laxmi decided to get a job at book-store to be able to pay for music lessons. She contacted a nearby music class and decided to finally pursue her passion. A happy and excited Laxmi left her house on a fateful April morning to reach her place of work and later that evening was to take the first step of her musical journey by starting her music lessons. Little did she know that her journey that day would be something that can only be described as being purged by fire, or acid in her case.

A family friend twice her age named Nadeem Syed a.k.a. Guddu took a sudden liking to her and started pursuing her relentlessly despite her vehement rejections. On that fateful April day, Guddu finally decided to teach her a lesson for daring to resist his constant advances. He along with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend grabbed her when she was about to reach the book store near Khan Market that she worked in and threw acid on her.

Later Laxmi would go on to describe how the acid felt cold against her skin for a few seconds before pain seared through her face and body. Laxmi was immediately admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia hospital where she spent the next three months suffering through excruciating pain and about seven surgeries. She was kept in a room without mirrors but she would try to catch her reflection in the water every day when the nurse got her water to wash her face.

Finally, when Laxmi exited the hospital, life had changed forever. She went on to become a woman with a disfigured face from a hard working 15-year-old. But the acid had disfigured face, not her spirit. In the 14 years between that April day and now, she has become the living embodiment of spirit and courage.

From running her own campaign named Stop Acid Attack and receiving numerous awards which included an award from Michelle Obama, Laxmi tirelessly worked towards rehabilitating and encouraging other acid attack victims. She was instrumental in state regulating the sale of acids to minor and making ID proof mandatory while buying.

Laxmi was working with her SAA campaign when she met Alok Dixit, an Air Force personnel turned journalist who found his calling for the movement. Cupid struck and the two decided to move in together soon after. Laxmi was averse to the idea of a traditional wedding given how much importance is placed on the physical beauty of brides. She welcomed her baby girl Pihu in 2014.

However, despite coming a long way from that scared and disfigured 15 years old, Laxmi’s struggles are not entirely over. After a few blissful years, Laxmi and Alok have parted ways and Laxmi has also distanced herself from Chhanv, the NGO she and Alok founded to help the acid attack survivors.

Despite and recognition and appreciation, Laxmi is struggling to make ends meet as her scarred face makes it difficult for her to get a job and just a while back she turned to social media as she was almost on the verge getting evicted from her small two-room apartment in Delhi due to high rent and she also revealed that other people do not rent out places to her either because of her disfigured face or due to the fact that she is an activist. She is single-handedly raising her daughter and also taking care of her aging mother. A somewhat disillusioned Laxmi is now looking forward to getting a government to secure her and daughter’s future.

But despite all these insurmountable hardships her fight for acid survivors rages on and she is building up the courage to finally go and take that music lesson that was left unattended on that fateful April day.