Actor Harleen Kaur Rekhi, who was last seen playing Mandodari in Shrimad Ramayan and is currently seen in the popular stage production Hamare Ram, is lending her voice to a conversation that’s long overdue—men’s mental health.

Speaking exclusively during Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, Harleen says, “It’s such an important and under-addressed issue. Society has conditioned men to bottle things up—but that’s incredibly unfair. Men feel deeply. They should be encouraged to express those emotions without shame.”
The actor, who will next be seen in Kamdhenu Gaumata, feels that emotional expression is often misunderstood when it comes to men.

“I admire emotional openness in men. It reflects strength, not weakness,” she says. “In fact, I feel men are more sensitive than we think—they’re just not taught how to show it.”
She points out how from childhood, boys are discouraged from crying or showing vulnerability. “That emotional repression becomes a burden. Parents, siblings, and partners need to tell boys it’s okay to feel lost, to cry, to ask for help,” she adds.

Harleen says she regularly encourages the men in her own life—friends, cousins, colleagues—to express themselves. “I always say: express yourself. Don’t bottle it up—it’s healthier to let it out.”
As someone who plays emotionally layered characters on screen and stage, Harleen says she finds emotional honesty in men deeply admirable. “Whether it’s a child or a 50-year-old man—emotions are universal. When a man expresses what he feels, you see a different kind of strength in him.”

“Society often glorifies toughness in men. But real strength lies in being honest, vulnerable, and emotionally aware,” she adds.

According to her, the change must begin early. “Emotional education should start at home, and in schools. Boys should know that being vulnerable doesn’t make them weak. It makes them human.”

She also believes public figures and storytellers have a responsibility to model emotional openness. “We need to normalise emotional expression. It shouldn’t be treated as something rare. The more we talk about it, the more natural it becomes,” Harleen signs off.