High rent adds to the miseries of actors, landlords in Mumbai
Mumbai is often referred to as the city of dreams. However, the Covid-19 crisis has brought life to a standstill, including for actors, who are now faced with rental woes, among other issues.
Actor Sheen Dass of Piyaa Albela fame shares, “After my dad’s retirement, I have been of a fashionista itch, but as I’m a Malayali. There lie my roots,” he says.
The album has 16 tracks and collaborations with KARMA, Deep Kalsi, Harjas and Rashmeet Kaur among others. Raftaar says he decided to make this album to leave a legacy. “We’re old-school, we come from the era of CDS and cassettes. They’re still safe, but nothing in the digital world is going to remain for a long time. A server can crash or anything else can happen. I just wanted to leave a legacy and, with this album, I wanted to pay tribute to my people,” adds the Dhaakad (Dangal; 2016) singer.
Raftaar says he wanted to distance himself from the ‘what’s trending’ scene, and the rat race. “It is not taking care of the family expenses. We’ve rented out our Delhi house, but given the crisis, we waived off the rent. When we requested our landlord in Mumbai for the same, he refused saying he has EMIS to pay.”
Shastri Sisters actor Sonal Vengurlekar is also facing a similar situation. She says, “My landlord isn’t ready to budge. I’ve been asked to pay my rent on time.” necessary that you have to struggle or have a bad childhood to be a rapper. You need to have a voice and the mind to weave a story. Ever since the rapping culture stepped in, people put up a façade that they come from smaller families, bad conditions and have seen a lot of struggle,” says the 31-year-old artiste.
Actor Malhar Pandya, who was seen in Kasam Tere Pyaar Ki, is in a fix, as two of his friends have been asked to vacate their houses if they can’t pay rent. “I’ve been living here for 13 years, my Ahmedabad house is on rent. I can’t go back now, because I’ll have to ask my tenants to leave. Where will they go? My savings are helping me survive, but till when?” he rues.
However, some landlords are ready to cooperate. Actor Harshita Gaur of Sadda Haq fame reveals that her landlord asked her to make partial payments till things get better.
Ek Deewaana Tha actor Donal Bisht feels people should understand that rent may be the only source of income for some landlords. “We can’t blame anyone. We all have to understand, help each other and move ahead,” she opines.