Celebs are spending time indoors amid the lockdown. (Photo: Madhuri Dixit/Karisma Kapoor/Instagram)
The outbreak of coronavirus has impacted everyone. While people are finding new ways to utilise time at home, actors, singers and filmmakers from across the Indian film industry are motivating their fans to take up painting, cooking, dancing and workout among other things during self-isolation.
Many celebrities including Pawan Kalyan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ayushmann Khurrana and others have come forward to extend financial help during this testing time. While Salman has pledged to take care of 25,000 daily wage workers from the film industry, Pawan Kalyan donated Rs 1 crore towards coronavirus relief efforts.
The number of positive cases in the country has more than doubled in the last five days, from just under 700 on March 26 to over 1400 today. The government is repeatedly urging people to stay at home to keep themselves safe. Celebrities are also making efforts to educate people about social distancing.
In this blog, we tell you what your favourite celebrities are up to amid the national lockdown.
Here’s a quick Coronavirus guide from Express Explained to keep you updated: What can cause a COVID-19 patient to relapse after recovery? | COVID-19 lockdown has cleaned up the air, but this may not be good news. Here’s why | Can alternative medicine work against the coronavirus? | A five-minute test for COVID-19 has been readied, India may get it too | How India is building up defence during lockdown | Why only a fraction of those with coronavirus suffer acutely | How do healthcare workers protect themselves from getting infected? | What does it take to set up isolation wards?
Emmy and Grammy-winning musician and songwriter Adam Schlesinger, known for his work with his band Fountains of Wayne and on the TV show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, died on Wednesday after contracting coronavirus.
Also Read | Singer-songwriter Adam Schlesinger dies from coronavirus
Actor Idris Elba says he and his wife are clueless about the next step in their treatment for coronavirus after they passed their quarantine period. “We’re both doing okay, still asymptomatic. We’ve passed the quarantine period but we’re a little bit stuck in limbo we can’t get a flight back home. So we just have to sit still for a little bit. Other than that, we’re OK, and we’re so thankful for that. I think the worst of it has probably passed,” he said in a video posted from his official Twitter account.
Also Read | Coronavirus: Idris Elba passes quarantine period, says ‘stuck in limbo’
Three of the film fraternity’s top associations – the Producers Guild of India (Guild), Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC) and Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) have come together to support the daily-wagers in the industry. The associations have set up a relief fund to provide financial assistance to the workers who have been impacted ever since the nationwide lockdown began due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Also Read | Film associations join hands to help daily wage workers affected due to lockdown
Ellis Marsalis Jr, jazz pianist, teacher and patriarch of a New Orleans musical clan that includes famed performer sons Wynton and Branford, has died after battling pneumonia brought on by coronavirus, one of his sons said late Wednesday.
Also Read | Jazz great Ellis Marsalis Jr passes away following coronavirus complications
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap took to Twitter to offer suggestions regarding TV shows and movies on streaming services.
Also Read | Amid lockdown, Anurag Kashyap recommends movies and shows
AR Rahman shared a post on Facebook that read, "Dear Friends, This message is to thank the doctors, nurses and all the staff working in hospitals and clinics all around India, for their bravery and selflessness. It fills one’s heart to see how ready they are to deal with this most dreadful pandemic. They risk their lives to save ours. It’s time to forget our differences and unite against this invisible enemy that has turned the world upside down. It’s time to bring the beauty of humanity and spirituality into action. Help our neighbours, senior citizens, the underprivileged and migrant workers. God is inside your heart (the most sacred shrine), so this is not the time to cause chaos by congregating in religious places. Listen to the government's advice. Self-isolation for a few weeks may give you many more years. Do not spread the virus and cause harm to fellow humans. This disease does not even warn you that you are a carrier, so don’t assume you are not infected. This is not the time to spread false rumours and cause more anxiety and panic. Let's be kind and thoughtful, the lives of many millions are in our hands."
Veteran actor Dilip Kumar shared on Twitter, "I urge you to #StayHomeSaveLives during this #COVID19pandemic" He also shared apoem that read, "Dawa bhi, dua bhi Auron se faslaa bhi Ghareeb ki khidmat Kamzor ki seva bhi." The poem shared the message of self-isolation and also encouraged people to help those in need.
Milind Soman shared on Instagram, "Went out to the market for the first time yesterday. No cars. People in masks. Very very quiet. Feel fortunate to get a few fresh vegetables that were available just a few hundred meters from home. In the situation we are in today, so many people have so much less. When I read about whole families walking back 100's of kilometers from cities to their villages, with little or no food and water, I know that I have a lot to be grateful for. Things in the market were well organized, the few people on the street were maintaining distance from each other outside shops and in front of the few vegetable and fruit vendors. I have never seen such orderly queues, or the kind of civic mindedness that I see today. It seems like the beginning of a big change, perhaps we will see a new social order in the years to come, different in ways that we cannot imagine."
Rapper Naezy recently took to The Indian Express' Facebook page to talk about his self-isolation time. He said he looks at coronavirus as nature's answer to humanity as we took it for granted for a very long time.
"All of us should join hands to win this war for humanity. Doing our bit by donating to the PM-CARES Fund and CM's Relief Fund. Let's come out of this stronger," Madhuri Dixit posted on Instagram.
Shaheen Bhatt posted a photo of Alia Bhatt on her Instagram.
"Hi guys that time of the day that I am really Bored ..... if you think I have entertained you then now it’s your turn to entertain me ... plz do," Sidharth Shukla tweeted.
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Sharing a photo on Instagram, Jackie Shroff asked his fans to stay home.
Taapsee Pannu shared a throwback photo from the sets of her film Pink. She wrote, "The first tattoo trial of Pink. The idea was to find a design which resonates with the situation of Minal. A bird who wants to open her wings and fly. A bird who comes in her own elements by the end of it all. It was a pleasant surprise for me to know that post the film’s release there were many girls who reached out to tattoo artists to get the similar tattoo done on them. I am myself a tattoo loving person provided it’s something that is attached to the person’s personality and not just a random design. I have 2 tattoos on me and had it not been this acting profession I would’ve probably gotten a third one on the nape of my neck by now ? #Throwback #Archive #QuarantinePost"
Karan Johar dropped a video on Instagram featuring his kids Yash Johar and Roohi Johar. In the video, Yash asks Karan to wear "simple clothes."
Sharing a photo of himself, Karanvir Bohra shared how 21 days of lockdown is not really working well for his body.
Star Wars actor and dialect coach Andrew Jack has passed away due to complications arising from coronavirus. He was 76. The actor died in a Surrey hospital on Tuesday, BBC reported. READ MORE
Posting an adorable photo featuring herself with husband Virat Kohli and her pet dog, Anushka Sharma shared the silver lining of staying in self-isolation. "Every dark cloud had a silver lining. And this time, while it may seem like the worst time and in so many ways it actually is, has also forcefully made us all stop and deal with things we might have been running away from because either we were ‘busy’ or it was convenient to say we were 'busy'. If this time is respected for what it is, it will enable more light to shine through. This time has also made us all realise what's truly important. For me just having food, water and a roof over my head and the good health of my family seems MOST important. Everything else is a bonus that I bow my head in gratitude for. But, that which we call 'basic' is not so basic for everyone after looking at all the people who struggle for just those few things. My prayers with them and their families. May everyone be safe and secure. This time has surely made me more reflective. This need to stay at home with your loved ones has been forced upon the entire world but there is a deep lesson for us all. There is a lesson to strive for work and life balance ( I've valued and strived for this dearly for many years now ), there is a lesson to devote more time in things that actually matter. Today, when I'm surrounded by all the blessings in my life, I just want to tell everyone how much compassion I feel for everyone who I see suffer. I want to help as many possible in the best of my abilities. I feel pride in our resilience to be better human beings. I can instinctively feel this in and around me. We will all have our individual and subjective lessons from this time and hopefully, such lessons will continuously stay with us all," the actor wrote.
Sharing a couple of photos on her Instagram, Malaika Arora shared, "Cook, clean ,workout,staying positive , sleep ,some introspection ,family time, repeat .... all the perks of stayin at home."
Radhika Madan shared a photo of herself on Instagram with a caption that read, "This mindless selfie clicked while walking on the beach reminded me of how simple pleasures in life were taken for granted."
In a video, Ravi Kishan was seen donating food to the needy.
Sonakshi Sinha mocked trolls on Tuesday. In a tweet, she mentioned, "Minute of silence for trolls who think that just because it wasn't announced,contributions weren't made.Neki kar dariya mein daal,suna toh hoga?Kuch log actually follow karte hai!Ab shaant ho jao & use ur time 2 do some actual good(announcing or not is a personal preference)"
On the 18th day of self-isolation, Padma Lakshmi tweeted a video of herself dancing in a TikTok video. She wrote, "When your daughter painstakingly teaches you a tiktok dance on the 18th day of the quarantine... concept, shooting & wardrobe choice: #littlehands music choice: me"
Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked his fans to stay home and stay fit. The actor shared a video of himself working out.
Posting a photo on Twitter, Mahesh Bhatt wrote, "One breath at a time, one minute at a time , one hour at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time, one month a time .... Happy isolation!!!"