Bhat alleges that the filmmakers did not give her due credit in its international screenings.

Kaveree Bamzai speaks with Deepika Padukone on playing Malti in Chhapaak, taking a break from acting after Padmaavat and what draws her to a film.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau data between 2014 and 2018, there have been 1,483 victims of acid attacks in the country. This when over the counter sale of acid was banned in 2013.

The percentage of cases of acid attacks that the courts disposed, of all the cases that went for trial, was 6.6 percent in the year 2016 and 9.9 percent in 2017. But, in 2018, it again came down to 6.11 percent cases.

Chhapaak marks Deepika’s first production venture. Meghana and Fox Star Studios have also produced the film. The movie received positive reviews from critics.

“You burned my face, but not my will to live. You cannot throw acid on that” says acid attack survivor Dolly

The movie is an attempt to help people understand why it is illogical and dangerous to relate a woman’s self-esteem with her external beauty.

Rekha Arya, Uttarakhand Minister of Women and Child Welfare announced a pension scheme for acid attack survivors, providing them with Rs 5000-6000 per month so that they can live a dignified life.

“As part of a regular process under communication and promotional activity for Skill India, the team keeps getting ideas from media houses and organisations to cross-promote each other. The production team (of Chhapaak) had approached Skill India for promoting the subject of the film,” said the ministry.

“I got two responses back. One was that nobody has been acknowledged and second was that she would attend to all this after the movie released. Both of them did not make sense to me. Then I had no choice because once the movie was released there was nothing we could have done,” Bhat recalled.