If people will not keep themselves busy, they will get sick: Arun Mandola

MUMBAI: India is currently in the fourth phase of lockdown and though the government has allowed a lot of things, staying at home is still being advised. But it’s not fun anymore. And the key to maintain one’s sanity and keep themselves healthy is to be busy. So even with a fake brave face on, people are indulging in fun family games, workout challenges, cooking etc. during the lockdown. Actor Arun Mandola (currently his show Sankat Mochan Hanuman is on air) feels that if people don’t keep themselves busy during this time, they will get sick. 

“If people will not be busy in these activities they will be sick so better to pretend fake brave face at least we will live in this universe,” the actor said. 

The actor is making the most of this lockdown and says that the biggest challenge for people right now is survival. “Honestly speaking I am enjoying 100%  of this lockdown. I am learning, making new dishes, doing regular workout, saying my prayers, cleaning my house every day, etc. so I don’t think people are trying to be fake or brave. Yes, somewhere we all are afraid about our jobs, money and freedom, but right now there is an even bigger challenge for us and that is survival,” he said. 

Talking about the lockdown and his biggest learning during this time, he said, “Under lockdown the circumstances have become worst for everyone and this is a big lesson for all of us. There are a lot of things that I am learning these days but the biggest learning is now that I have become more hardworking, more active and the biggest lesson for me is to keep learning.”

When asked how he keeps himself busy within the walls of his house, he said, “If you are a learner then definitely you have lots of work to do. The same thing is happening to me. I keep learning these days, working hard, making new strategies for the future. These days I am learning animations and polishing my acting skills.”

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Quoting the famous showbiz phrase “The show must go on”, Arun feels that the industry will soon find a solution to make its way back to the audience’s TV screen. But for now he asserts that shoot-at-home can become the new normal as the Covid-19 is not going to go away soon, and till the time they don’t find a solution this is the only option. 

When asked to comment on the videos that people, including celebrities, are making these days while doing their household chores, he said, “I don’t think there is something bad in cleaning your own house, whether he is an ordinary man or an extraordinary man. We actors inspire people to do good or bad things then why should we feel shy to do these things, people will follow our good things and bad things also.”

“My father always says, ‘Mehnat karne mein koi sharam nahi hai,’ to phir kya jhadu aur kya bartan. Yes everyone is going crazy these days on social media because nobody has faced coronavirus before so everyone is in shock but soon their mind-body will adjust to this,” he added. 

With the world coming to a pause due the coronavirus, people need to get habituated to social distancing. The actor agrees to it and said, “In future Social distance will be normal because these types of problems surely will come in the future and I think this is the starting of a new world.”

Lastly, when asked what is the first thing Arun will do once things get back to normal, he confessed, “Once all this is over I would love to go to a temple and thank God for keeping me and my family safe from COVID-19 and then will go to my home town and spend time with my family.”

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