These are anxious times for humanity at large, says Nakuul
Actor Nakuul Mehta, who had tested positive for Covid-19 last month, admits he knew working would be a risk in these uncertain times. “I began shooting for my TV show, and somewhere Jankee (Parekh, wife) and I knew it is a risk,” says Mehta.
Since then, he has tested negative and resumed work as well. “I’ve been extremely careful for the past one year and eight months, being a mask police on sets and avoiding unnecessary social interaction... But somewhere, it (being infected) was not so shocking. In the last two months I’ve been shooting for two shows in Mumbai and London. Some things didn’t go in my favour. Life is such and you have to take it in your stride,” says Mehta, adding that the two weeks of quarantine were “insightful”.
Jankee and their son, Sufi, also tested positive, and that made it doubly challenging for Mehta. He shares, “Jankee and I could deal with our own health, but Sufi had a rough week with high fever. He had to be admitted to a hospital for a week. Thankfully, we are all fine. These are anxious times for humanity at large. With the Omicron scare and spike in cases, what one can do is be as careful as you can. Don’t indulge or socialise if possible. It was hard for us, but when you have a family, you have to be careful.”
Their son hasn’t met most of their extended family, and he admits that they neither “felt nor fed into the anxiety of staying at home”.
Mehta advises caution but also feels that life has to go on. “Work gives meaning to our lives. For most of the last two years, we were operating from home, but there came a point where you had to step out. One finds their own strength,” he says.
The actor urges people to get tested as the virus is “very contagious”. “Every day, a friend or family member is testing positive. I hope it is a matter of time before we develop herd immunity,” he signs off.
Guest List Edition.
Minogue has paid homage to disco with the album. “My inspirations were the iconic and inspiring disco classics, plus other artistes who had disco influences in their music,” she reveals.
She might not be working in India as she is waiting for good work to come her way, but the Can’t Get You Out of My Head hitmaker is swamped with projects. “I started work on the disco album pre-pandemic, so I had been in some regular studios. But once lockdown became a reality, so did a home studio. As challenging as it was, it was so rewarding,” says the 53-yearold.
She shares that music helped her through the stressful times. “This album gave me a purpose (in the lockdown) and more inspiration than ever to connect with people through music,” concludes the A Second to Midnight singer.