With people being advised to stay indoors and shooting having come to a halt, Bollywood is reaching out to fans in different, innovative ways. By Team Viva
Maximum City”, “The City That Never Sleeps” are some of the descriptions that Mumbai attracts. In popular imagination, the metro is synonymous with the film industry which, by default, also gets imbued with the qualities of the city. But with both being intertwined, it is not surprising that with the shutdown in place due to the Coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, Bollywood sits at home — quarantined and ongoing productions have come to an untimely and infinite halt.
However, the people who populate the industry are as tensile as some of the characters that they portray on screen. So when the stars can’t step out of their homes to shoot another blockbuster, what do they do? They’ve fallen back on technology to catch up. And thanks to social media we also get a glimpse into how they are going about keeping social distance at their respective homes.
Priyanka-Nick’s social media mush
Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas, along with her husband Nick, posted a mushy picture on social media while emphasising on the fact that self-isolation is the need of the hour. The actress can be seen sleeping with her head on Nick’s lap. Their pet dog is sitting and relaxing next to the couple. She captioned the photo, “Stay at home.” On the other hand, Nick shared a video in which the two urged people to stay at home and maintain social distancing.
Deepika’s productivity episodes
Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone is utilising her time at home productively in a time of COVID-19 pandemic. She took to social media and shared a photograph of her wardrobe and said that she is busy cleaning it. “Productivity in the time of COVID-19!? #cleaning #wardrobe,” she captioned it.
Post this, it was time for some “self love” for the actor. A photograph in which she was seen posing with a face roller popped up next on her account. “Season 1: Episode 2, Productivity in the time of COVID-19! #selflove #selfcare,” she wrote.
She later posted her third productivity episode where she can be seen drinking fruit juice in her nightwear.
Alia’s “me time”
Actor Alia Bhatt took to Instagram to share various pictures of how staying at home at this time is important and can be utilised for completing important chores. One of them was reading a book, which she captioned, “stay home and finish a book.” Alia was reading a book on musician Nitin Sawhney. With the post, she urged her fans to finish the book they have been wanting to for a long time.
She later posted an image of herself looking at the sunset. Utilising the quarantine time to the maximum, she also posted an image of herself which was captioned, “Stay home and take selfies (be)cause a little vanity never hurt anybody.”
Kareena enjoying her newly-joined Instagram
Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, who recently made her debut on Instagram, said that there could have been no better timing than this as she is able utilise her time to the maximum on social media.
She had earlier shared a glimpse of what the couple’s week ahead would look like. Kareena revealed what the couple would do during their self-isolation period: “Looks like he is ‘booked’ for the week... While I Instagram.” She also shared two photos — one of Saif reading a book peacefully in a candle-lit study room and the other one of the opposite end of the room, where she can be seen using her phone while sitting on a sofa chair.
Her next post was a cheeky selfie with a bookshelf. She can be seen with a French dictionary by Collins Robert among others and wrote dreaming of everybody’s favourite junk, “I just love French fries.”
Kareena and Saif Ali Khan know how to keep Taimur entertained while abiding by Janata Curfew on Sunday, and staying indoors in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. In Kareena’s latest post, she shared a few photographs in which we can see Saif and Taimur planting saplings in their balcony. The father-son duo is dressed in white kurta-pyjama. “My boys doing their bit,” Kareena captioned the photos. The actor also urged people to “make the world a better place” and “play their part”. “Stay Home...Stay Safe. #JanataCurfew,” she added.
Bollywood claps for COVID-19 warriors
Bollywood biggies like Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar, Kiara Advani and Hema Malini were seen participating in PM Narendra Modi’s Janata Curfew ‘taali bajao’ or clapping initiative to pay tribute to all those who are working round the clock to eradicate COVID-19 from India.
Ranveer’s “out of quarantine” look
Bollywood’s livewire star Ranveer Singh shared his “out of quarantine” look. In a photograph that he posted of himself on Instagram, the actor carried dreadlocks and had an intense look. He captioned it, “Me coming out of quarantine.”
An important message by Suriya
Tamil actor Suriya also took to social media to explain to fans the importance and necessity of social distancing. In a brief video, the actor talked about how the Coronavirus is spreading faster than we thought and we can spread awareness about it. Referencing to the Jallikattu and Marina protests, he asked people to stay indoors and take part in this war against Corona. He also said that the death toll in Italy is higher than in China because of the ignorance of people living outside. The actor insisted that we should follow the precautions such as keeping safe distance from one another and washing hands, so that India doesn’t become another Italy.
He also explained that when a person, who carries the virus, travels by train or goes to a public event instead of isolating himself, he passes the virus to everyone around, and they suffer. He added that doctors, government officials have been risking their lives, so we have to be at home to stay healthy. Suriya then quoted a few words from Valluvar’s classic Tamil Language text, The Thirukkural, which says, “Anjuvathu anjamai pethamai (It is foolish to say no to fear).”
Sidharth cooks prawns
Actor Sidharth Malhotra is trying his hands at something new — cooking prawns. Sidharth shared a video on Twitter in which we can see him cooking. He captions it, “Well, it’s never too late to try something new! Here’s #MyAttempt at cooking butter garlic prawns for the first time, which surprisingly turned out pretty well.”
Sources of entertainment
When you were closeted with your cousins and friends in a room or during a long train journey, Antakshari, the quintessential Indian past time came to the rescue. Bollywood has taken to it a leaf out of that book but tweaked it to present times. Actors Aparshakti Khurrana, Parineeti Chopra, Nupur Sanon, Bhumi Pednekar, and singers Vishal Dadlani, Harshdeep Kaur, Jonita Gandhi, Armaan Malik and Aditya Narain are some who have posted videos of themselves singing song taking off from the last alphabet of the singer who had tagged them where they are playing #QuarantineAntakshari.
—With inputs from Agencies