‘COVID DRAINS YOU BOTH PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY!’
Suave actor Rajniesh (who dropped his surname recently), along with his family bravely battled the virus last month. The Khatron ke Khiladi-5 winner had been on a shooting spree since September last year before getting infected.
After the Lucknow schedule, he was shooting in Rajasthan for the OTT series Inspector Avinash and went back to Mumbai during a break.
“I was supposed to go back to Rajasthan after a week but by then the shooting was called-off as some of the crew members got infected and had to be quarantined. Meanwhile, during a routine-testing my part-time cook’s antigen test turned out to be positive following which me and my staff were tested positive too,” shared 1920 actor.
Rajniesh had high-fever and so did his daughter. “My wife had mild symptoms, but Teeyaa had high-fever that was a bit worrisome as situation around was very appalling. Thankfully, she recovered fast and so did we! But yes, physically and mentally it does drain you.”
The actor is now looking forward to get vaccinated. “After the prescribed period we take the jab as it’s the only way to prevent from future infection. My mother, living in Vrindavan, too is now fully vaccinated so I am little relieved from her end. I urge all to take the shot.”
On work front, his OTT series Flawed is expected to be release next where he plays an alcoholic.
“Most of the projects, I shot for are ready, including Partho Ghosh’s The Perfect Script and paranormal thriller The Ghost Thesis. Sanjiv Jaiswal’s film Bagawat, that we shot in Lucknow, will be screened at Ami Coty Film Festival, Italy in June as it’s based on a universal subject — caste-system. Inspector Avinash’ too has been largely shot, just a small schedule in Rishikesh and then in Mumbai is left,” he said.
Rajniesh is slowly getting back to his fitness routine as he is now readying himself for projects that will start soon. “Eventually, we have to work! Projects will start rolling out so we have to make ourselves available as work with safety will continue as the new normal. The actor in me is raring to go but slowly and safely,” he adds.
On dropping his surname, he said, “I read a lot on Baba Saheb (BR Ambedkar) during my preparation for Bagawat and during the recent pandemic surge. The biggest change we saw during the peak was how people came forward to help others irrespective of their caste or religion. So, I decided to take this step and follow humanity solely.”