The News Minute | December 3, 2014 | 02:44 pm IST
‘You will hear and you will be told that the face you burned is the face I love now’… Laxmi read her first poem after being honored by Michelle Obama at the International Women of Courage Awards in Washington D.C earlier this year.
Our face is our identity. And what if that very identity is snatched away from us? For some, it is not a question of choice, there was never any choice. Getting it back may be more difficult than can be imagined, but deserves every bit of effort.
An acid attack survivor, Laxmi, is currently undergoing treatment in Kerala in an attempt to get her face back. And sponsoring her treatment is actor Mammootty, the superstar of Malayalam cinema.
Padanjali, an ayurvedic treatment centre in Palakkad, Kerala, confirmed that Laxmi is being treated in their institution and that Mammootty is the one sponsoring it.
(Laxmi at the hospital)
Dr Jyothish, who runs Padanjali along with his father, said that the actor got to know about Laxmi from the television show Satyamev Jayate.
Mammootty is currently working on a project with Resul Pukooty, the Oscar winning sound-mixer. “Mammootty spoke to Pukooty about helping Laxmi, and Pukooty put him through to actor Aamir Khan, who hosts the show. After speaking to Khan, Mammootty decided to sponsor Laxmi’s reconstructive treatment”, stated Dr Jyothish.
Asserting that Laxmi reached Padanjali on Sunday, he said, “We have begun her treatment and have been administering her some ayurvedic medicines, she also has to drink kashayam (concoction), among other medicines. She is showing considerable improvement already”.
Dr Jyothish also asserted that Laxmi will have to take the medicines for a few more months after which “visible changes can be expected to be seen on her face”.
Recounting the terrible incident that was set to change the entire course of her life, Laxmi, in a February 2014 interview to Daily Mail, said,
'I felt as if someone had set my whole body on fire. The skin was just coming off, it was like dripping, from my hands and from my face.'
Laxmi was just 15 when a man, more than twice her age, doused her face with acid because she had rejected his marriage proposal. That was in 2005. Nine years and seven major surgeries later, Laxmi is still fighting in hope to get a part of her identity back- her face.
“Laxmi is very emotional and wants to meet Mammootty in person. We are making arrangements for her to meet the actor”, mentioned Dr Jyothish.
“Laxmi is in Kerala, but right now we are not clear about who is going to fund her treatment, and whether the sponsorship will be total or partial. May be the institution is in talks with some body, but we haven’t been informed about it yet.” said Abhilash Shukla, a member of SAA. Shukla also added that Laxmi was not undergoing any treatment right now, and that she was just staying with her mother.
A few local media organisations have also reported that Mammootty is sponsoring Laxmi’s treatment after all. The star is however, yet to make an official statement.