Was it too early to ‘unlock’ showbiz?

MUMBAI: It was after three months that actors started to step out of their homes, though cautiously.

However, the recent incidents have overshadowed that joy: the Bachchans, Anupam Kher’s family, and TV actor Parth Samthaan all tested positive for Covid-19. In such a scenario, the question arises: was it too early to resume work in showbiz?

While many actors such as Vidya Balan and Akshay Kumar stepped out to shoot for ads, Amitabh Bachchan (who shot for a few promo at home), his son Abhishek (who had stepped out to dub for his web show Breathe Into The Shadows), his daughtr-in-law Aishwarya and granddaughter Aaradhya have tested positive.

Actor Amit Sadh, who had been spotted dubbing along with Abhishek, took to Twitter to share that he will get a precautionary Covid-19 test done. He agrees that stepping out for work was a bit too soon. “We should take this as an alarm. It is a double-edged sword — we want to get back to work, as well as want the ecosystem and life to start. Maybe it was too soon, and we need to wait a little more, stop and re-evaluate for some time,” says the actor.

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Trade expert Atul Mohan concurs, “We’re in phase where cases are at an all-time high, and even if you take precautions, all it will take is a tiny fraction of second to contract the virus. These cases have put us on the back foot now. We will have to be very careful about another step, it’s a slippery path.”

But industry people argue that such cases don’t mean that work should stop. Filmmaker R. Balki, who had stepped out to shoot for the Covid-19 awareness ad with Akshay during the lockdown, tells us, “We’ve to get back to work. The cases are going to go up as you open up and as you interact. We have to take precautions and move on. The recovery rate is also high, we can’t live in fear every time there is something. We can’t do that, life has to move on. Actors going out for post-production is the correct step, we should.”

Also read Mouni Roy travels from UAE post 4 months of lockdown

Credits: Hindustan Times