We were allowed limited food: Neetu Chandra
Actor Neetu Chandra, who was in California, USA, for the shooting for her next action thriller movie, had to return to India in the first week of March when her parents panicked after coronavirus was declared a pandemic by World Health Organisation. Before she left the country, the 35-year-old actor recalls, “Everything was shutting down — from bars and restaurants to the workplaces. We were allowed limited food and if we would ask for more, they would tell us to come tomorrow. It was difficult to survive there, away from the family.”
Since her shooting was also cancelled, she decided to return to India for the time being, but never thought that the Covid-19 crisis would stretch for so long and also affect India.
“My parents told me that before it becomes worse and everything gets locked down, you come back. People had predicted that by April, it might affect 65% of the people in California. So I rushed back. But I feel scared for my friends in California and I video call them to check if they are fine,” Chandra says.
Though she didn’t face any trouble at the airport when she returned to India, the actor says, “I felt like it’s a scene from a movie. It was very scary. There was, of course, a panic situation at the airport and people were looking at me with suspicion that I’m a carrier of the virus. But I was properly checked and was allowed to enter [the country]. I’m happy that I returned safely and am now spending quality time with my family.”