My heart breaks watching animals so scared during Diwali: Anushka Sharma

Anushka Sharma’s a true- blue philotherian. She loves animals and birds and detests any kind of cruelty meted out to them. She’s part of a campaign this Diwali, which is extremely close to her heart. In this interview, Anushka talks about that campaign, the idea behind it and urges everyone to have a ‘Pawsitive noise-free Diwali’. Excerpts...

What are your plans this Diwali?

My Diwali is always a very simple one. We have a pooja at home, eating and spending time with my family and my dog Dude. We know it’s a holiday, so there’s not going to be work. (Laughs) Last time, I didn’t dress up, but this time, I will be dressing up a bit. Friends might come home. But I have one thing to tell all the people — please don’t burst crackers. I hate it, I hate it because it harms the animals and I feel like crying watching stray dogs who get so scared that they hide in gutters. It’s so sad. My heart breaks at the sight of it. I am also doing the second phase of my Pawsitive campaign. I am very happy that I am doing the same campaign that I did last year, this year as well. I am hoping to do it again and again and reach out to more people and educate them on the issue of animal welfare.  

How did the idea of the campaign fall in place?

I think nothing of this sort has been planned before. This is the best way of using my social media platform, I believe. It’s because it’s something that is very close to my heart — animal welfare. And I feel everybody on this planet has a softer side but sometimes, they are not in touch with it. You don’t realise the torture and the misery that animals face because of the way we lead our lives. And I think that’s the awareness campaign I wanted to create to let everyone know — especially children — the harmful effects firecrackers have on animals, birds and the environment. And I think it’s very important to start saying something like this to kids because it’s an impressionable age and I know they love bursting firecrackers and it’s not something they will understand completely right now.  But I feel when I was younger and I used to burst crackers, if somebody told me this, I don’t think I would have burst them. So it’s needed to condition and sensitise people towards animals, so that we can live in a society that’s good for everybody.

When was the last time you burst crackers?

I don’t even remember the last time I burst crackers. Maybe, when I was 11 or 12.

There are people who tie crackers to a dog’s tail...

(Cuts in) That’s what I am saying. Nothing pains me more than knowing somebody can put an animal through something like that. It’s so hurtful. And that’s the point I am trying to make through this campaign. I am very saddened to hear whatever you just told me. There are a lot of dogs, cats and cows in the cowshed near my house. And the area that I live in, crackers are like a big thing there. I know it is something that’s obviously affecting the animals there. It’s also about the environment. It’s not that anybody has mentioned it in the rule book that you have to burst crackers. Diwali is a festival of lights. If you are celebrating Diwali in the truest sense, you don’t need to burst crackers, it’s not really a part of it. Also, the next day after Diwali, you don’t want to step out on the streets because it’s so dirty and the kind of work that the municipal corporation have to do to clear the roads is a task. In general, it’s not a great thing or it isn’t even helping anything. Just for a few minutes of happiness and excitement, you are harming the environment in such a big way.

Have you ever hit someone for hitting an animal?

I have seen sometimes that kids find it funny pelting stones at animals. I detest that since the time I was a kid. I remember always shouting at them for doing that. I don’t even understand the logic in hitting an animal and laughing so much. I don’t get the humour behind it. Whenever there are things like this, then obviously people will have to react.

How does your dog, Dude react to the crackers?

The thing is I live on the 20th floor and I have kind of sound-proof glasses in my house. So, Dude doesn’t suffer as much as other animals because I am privileged and I have that option, but I know it benefits Dude. Even then, he is still lethargic during Diwali and not as active as he usually is. Not just him, so many of my friends and their dogs, too, face a lot of troubles. I spoke to a lot of my friends and people on sets who I was working with and they shared their stories with me. The whole sight of it is just so sad.

Are other Bollywood celebrities coming forward to support your Pawsitive campaign?

This is the second phase of the Pawsitive campaign. Last year’s campaign had Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt, Priyanka Chopra all coming out and rooting for the cause. They helped me out when I requested them to shoot a video and send it to me, urging their fans not to burst crackers. I had posted all their videos last time. Even this time, I am going to ask my friends to do it. These are all genuine pet lovers so they understand the trauma.

Recently, there was this incident in Chennai where a person who threw a dog off the terrace was let off with a fine of `50. Do you think Indian laws  for animals need to be stricter?

Obviously, that’s the need of the hour now. What happened in  Chennai is one such case which shows that if we don’t have stricter laws, then people can get away with anything heinous as this. And every life matters according to me.