The past couple of months have been tough for most of us, be it mentally or financially. The coronavirus has sucked up all our savings and those who didn’t have the privilege to work from home were the worst affected. Even though several states in the country have permitted their citizens to resume working, it will be long before everyone finally gets back on their feet. The situation is no different for television actors.
Expressing his frustration over the current scenario, actor Hiten Tejwani said to Hindustan Times, “The anxiety level is going up now. For how long will this go on? I think now things should just open up completely now. One way or the other, we have to start working now. It’s time for people to step out and take care of themselves in doing so.” Recently, Maharashtra extended its lockdown taking cognisance of the rising number of cases in the country’s financial capital.
Looking at the road ahead, a concerned Hiten says that people who don’t work regularly are struggling financially. “None of us has been working for so long. For people like me, it’s still fine. I can manage and have my finances sorted.”
“But the actors who are newcomers or those who don’t work regularly are struggling financially. I don’t know for how long they will be able to sustain.”
The actor, popular for his work in serials such as ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kasautii Zindagii Kay’, further adds that resuming shoot while adhering to all the safety norms might be tricky.
“Our work is such that we have to shoot and be in the studios. It means there will be a lot of people. In such cases, social distancing is going to be a little tricky.”
“We can’t work with a lesser number of people because such is the nature of our work. Something will have to be worked out, maybe alternated working days,” he explains.
The actor further divulged that people will have to take care of themselves and resume working in order to be financially independent. “I read somewhere that 80 per cent of the population will eventually get the virus. We have to now let our immunity do the work. We have to take it, get antibodies and fight it. Something like that seems to be a long term solution to this problem. Otherwise, the lockdown will ruin the economy. Work from home is fine but it cannot be a permanent solution,” he exclaims.
Yes, working from home isn’t possible for everyone and people will have to go out to earn their bread and butter. However, we should not forget that the war against coronavirus is still on. Hence, taking every precautionary measure while staying healthy and hygienic is the need of the hour.