Amid Covid-19 scare, Sanjay’s kids attend school online
Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta is currently in self isolation, and has whisked his family away to Khandala (a hill station in Maharashtra). He took to Twitter on Monday to post a picture of his son, Shivaansh, attending an online class, since his school has been shut down in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“This has coincided with the completion of my film’s (Mumbai Saga) last schedule,” says the 50-year-old, adding, “These are forced holidays, so I brought my children with their cousins, here. We are chilling. They have their schools every morning on their laptops. The situation in Khandala is pretty cool, there’s no panic. The place is empty, including the hotels. Shivaansh (who’s in Class 3) is very excited about this... meeting his friends online and the entire class being taught by the teacher. It’s a good initiative.” His daughter Dalai, who’s in Class 1, too, is attending her school online.
What Gupta is worried about is how the situation doesn’t seem to be getting better. “We should be on red alert. God help us. The culture in Mumbai is such that daily labourers, including cooks and drivers, come to work from far-off places. My driver stays in Nalasopara. I stay in Versova. He has to change one train and then take a bus, too, and we know what the situation there is. You can look after your family, but what do you do with people coming from outside? We have to take more care of our house helps,” he explains.
On what measures he is taking, he reveals, “Of course we are using sanitisers and masks. Our staff doesn’t go out here, but if they have to, they are careful and sanitise their hands and everything.”
Talking about the impact the shutdown on shoots and theatres in most of the states will have on the business of entertainment, he says, “It’s like any other industry; there’s no business and will lead to loss of revenue. It has already impacted, and it’s just the start. It’s something that has happened globally, and is going to happen in Hollywood, too.”