MUMBAI: Ace actor Arjun Bijlani is spending some quality time with his family but he is worried about the future at the same time. He feels that even if the lockdown is lifted people are still going to be afraid because of the risk of infection to coronavirus.

“We are all talking about the lockdown but the main issue is Covid-19 virus - when will it disappear, when will we get a vaccine? And till the time we don’t get these answers, we will not be able to lift the lockdown. It is such a catch 22 situation, we don’t know what is wrong and what is right. When will the lockdown get over and when will we start meeting people? This uncertainty will be there till the vaccine comes out.” 

Since the government announced a nationwide lockdown, the entertainment industry stopped all its work too. There are no shoots happening and the actor feels that even when it resumes, they will not be working at the same large scale they used to. 

“I feel post lockdown the entertainment industry will start working in small units. Fiction shows will start first because they have smaller units than reality shows. Once the industry and the broadcaster have decided on some guidelines, then we can start full-fledged shooting.”

“The content will be different because we are not going to work with the whole unit, many things will be done digitally. Everything has to be monitored. How many actors will be ready to come out and work will be an issue too,” he said. 

Arjun feels that even with their families around, it’s natural for people to feel restless because most of us have been without work for over 50 days now. 

“We have been staying at home for more than 45 days now and there is not much work. Irrespective of whether you stay with family or not, it will still make you restless. I have been a workaholic and I have not a break for more than 4-5 days at a time. We all work for our family, so when you maintain a balance life is going to be good.” 

From cleaning vegetables and other food items to washing hands at regular intervals and maintaining social-distance, the new normal is taking a toll on most of us. But the “Naagin” actor has taken this in a positive way, hoping that it will get over soon.  

However, he also feels that everyone has a threshold and sitting at home without any work can worsen the things. He added, “From a superstar to the smallest actor in the industry, everyone is willing to work. Everyone has to handle things. Technicians, writers, editors, directors, all are sitting at home. Once the lockdown is lifted, we don’t know how many people will be out for work. Bigger producers will be ready to start something new, but smaller makers will not be able to that. So right now we are in a position where we really don’t know what is going to happen next.”

The actor is concerned that the virus is not going to go away anytime soon, so the government needs a lot of planning as “it is not easy to strike the balance between restarting the economy without risking the lives of people.” 

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Arjun also spoke the recent incidents where social-distancing norms were violated and said, “Everything, except essential services was shutdown earlier. And recently when shops were opened with restrictions, it created a lot of issues as social distancing wasn’t followed.”

But he is hopeful that things will change and said, “In midst of all this I see a lot of optimism, people have hope in their heart. We need to come up with a solution fast, otherwise the road to recovery will take a long time.”

Arjun concluded by saying that one needs to save their life in 2020 and work in 2021. “Don’t be restless because it is just an emotion and life does not work on emotions. You have to keep holding yourself because ‘jaan hai toh jahan hai’,” he added.

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