JAVED CLARIFIES REASON BEHIND SELLING VEGETABLES
Actor Huma S Qureshi feels it will be a while before things normalise, though the Maharashtra government has given its nod to resume shoots, and people in the industry will have to watch each other’s backs.
“I feel we all have to support each other,” she says. Asked if she may accept a pay cut, Qureshi says, “I don’t think it’s time to think about yourself, but in the larger interest of what’s going on. Everybody will have to change.”
The 33-year-old, however, believes films offer hope to people, especially in such testing times, and hence it’s essential everyone works towards the common goal of bringing them back on track. “Right now, basic necessities matter to people. But films in a way are an escape. People come to watch films when they’re feeling low and need inspiration, which is also why I feel our industry should get back on its feet soon. The [Maharashtra] government is already figuring out ways how this can happen in a safe manner. Everyone is thinking in the right direction, as the heart is in the right place,” says Qureshi.
The actor also shares her concern about unskilled labourers on a film set, who, she feels, will have to be helped to stand on their feet. “We have to be aware of the fact that in India, because we’re a developing nation, there’s a lot of unskilled labour. So, while we’re trying to figure out how to make the sets safer, we’ll also have to invest in programmes to make sure that more and more people are trained and educated. That’s the foundation. Everything is dependent on each other,” she adds.
Many, including celebrities, got the shock of their lives (pun intended) in the form of their recent electricity bills. Actor Taapsee Pannu, who was charged ₹36,000 for June — almost 10 times the usual — shared her surprise by tweeting, “3 months of lockdown and I wonder what appliance(s) I have newly used or bought in the apartment only last month to have such an insane rise in my electricity bill….” She tells us, “That was a shocking bill I received… They don’t have any proof of what our actual reading was. How do we know how high it was?”
Actor Amyra Dastur said she wasn’t even living in the flat she was charged for, since April 1. Vir Das and Renuka Shahane were also taken aback by their bills. Shahane tweeted: “I got a bill of ₹5510 on the 9th of May while in June I got a bill of ₹29,700 combining May &
June…” Actor Dino Morea says, “I am sure there’s a solution...we’ll just have to understand it better from the electricity company.”
The company, in Mumbai, has since clarified. “We have re-started physical meter reading... Bills were generated on the lower side, being an average of preceding three months that is, December, January and February... Actual consumption in...april, May and June is comparatively higher due to seasonal impact (summer) and increased usage (advent of Lockdown/wfh),” said a spokesperson of Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited.
Delhiites too face similar woes. Aashima Akhtar, a thirdyear DU student says, “We are apparently charged on 2019’s usage. So, my total bill for the last three months is ₹13,000.”
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