Do you remember the stunning dancer who appeared in Remo D’Souza’s ABCD (Anybody can dance)?
Laurent Gottlieb stepped into Bollywood with Remo D’Souza’s “Any Body Can Dance” opposite Salman Yousuf Khan. She stunned the audiences with her dancing skills and pretty face. She was in the second installment of the movie too, which featured Varun Dhawan & Shraddha Kapoor in the lead. She did a few movies & reality shows and faded away in the air, and Lauren’s fans wondered where the actress-dancer was?
Recently, the dancer turned actress gave an interview about her absence from the screen. She went into details about her absence by sharing some real close & personal details about battling with depression, alcohol & drugs while she tried to maintain her place in the industry.
Lauren opened up about how the pressure of competing with each other in the industry affects the artists in a way no one can think of. Lauren came to Indian in 2012 after competing on a US dance reality TV show, “So you think you can dance” She stated, “I was up for a lead role in Step Up four and lost it one of my close friends.” The actress remembered that she was pretty heartbroken and devastated about losing a role like that. She mentioned that “I couldn’t even bring myself to wish her as my ego was coming in the way.” She said it took her five hours to get over the fact that she has lost the role to someone else who happens to be her friend. ” As soon as I sent her a congratulatory message, I got an email from the makers of ABCD,”
God works, mysteriously!
Lauren also explains that the 3D movie directed & choreographed by Remo D’Souza was her big shot in the industry, and she gave her best. The film showcased not only her fantastic dancing skills but also her talent for histrionics. She had plans to work in India, and something made her stay back as she shifted her base to India. According to Lauren, she fell for the trap of “fame & fortune” which made her “greedy for fame & popularity”.
Lauren was offered the role of Vinita that was later played by Shraddha Kapoor in ABCD 2 opposite Varun Dhawan. Laurent rejected that part and chose to play Olive, the American-Indian dancer in the movie. The 31-year-old actress stated that people who were working on the film later expressed their views with her by saying that she messed up with the roles.
Adding to her devastation was the cold shoulder she had to face while promoting the movie. “I was sidelined completely, cut out of promotions, even some of my portions were edited out of the film. They were the six worst months of my life, and that included my stint as a judge in the celebrity TV dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa,”
Talking about the director & mentor Remo D’Souza, Lauren explained that the two shared a distant relationship. She mentioned that there were only a few people in India whom she called her family and trusted them, but she couldn’t find a shoulder to cry on or ears to listen to her. She feels that she should have been a little more open about her feelings with the people she considered her family and maybe they might have tried to comfort & support her.
Lauren Gottlieb’s issues with mental health started when she was a teenager & a part of US dance reality show “So you think you can dance. “The competitive scenarios in So You Think You Can Dance brought stress, and stress hormones degenerate your genes.” The actress claimed that she started taking prescribed drugs to comfort her. She started making excuses to get out of doing things with her best friend to which eventually pushed her into isolation. She mentioned that by the time she came to India, she was mentally unwell but hadn’t accepted it yet.
Asking about her teenage time, Lauren opened up by clearing out that she started dealing with mental health issues when she was 15. The voices she uses to listen to made her self doubt and gave her anxiety, especially when she decided to choose a path for her career. Lauren also claimed that if she had decided to stay in India after knowing that she needed help and is not getting enough here, she wouldn’t be alive today.
After dealing with so much and getting so support from the people in India, Lauren flew back to New York and confided in a friend that she needed help. The dancer turned actress flew to Los Angeles to seek therapy and tried to stay low for eight months. Remembering the time when she finally decided to seek help, Lauren confessed that she use to cry throughout the long flight from the US. But the second she landed in India, she used to shut her emotions off and plastered a smile on her face.
She opened up about her social media presence too. She mentioned that she was a known name in the industry, and people use to follow her as she became famous. The pressure of being popular got to her. On social media, she seemed as a happy go lucky girl, but deep down the actress remembers that she was suffering. She was sad, hurt & unhappy. She turned to alcohol & drugs to find solace to feel happy.
When she entered the dance reality show “Jhalak Dhikla Jaa 6”, Lauren confessed that it was her greed for fame that brought her downfall. The dancer stated, “I was stuck deep down a hole, feeling like a victim and desperately waiting for someone to pull me out, It took me a long time to realize that everything was happening for me and not to me.”
Asking about her plans, Lauren stated that she plans to travel across the country for the next three weeks. She wants to share her insights with the world and meet strangers, listen to them & share their happiness. The dancer claimed that she had found a way to love herself by the act of giving out to the world. She is ready to get back to work soon and seemed pretty excited about it.
We hope that Lauren finds peace in any place she thinks she can and comes back on screen with a bang because her dancing skills are something that needs to be onscreen. More power to you diva.