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National Award-winning actor-producer Sohum Shah believes the Indian film industry will survive the phase of COVID-19 lockdown, just as it has survived many threats in the past.
“I am concerned and worried about the daily wage workers. We are doing whatever we can to help them. The producers’ guild has started a relief fund to offer some aid. Our industry has always faced a lot of threat. There’s piracy and there were years when the box office business went down due to big-budget Hollywood films, yet we survived those phases. I strongly believe that our industry will survive this as well and will be back on track as soon as the lockdown ends,” said Sohum, best known for the 2018 period horror drama “Tumbbad“, which he acted in and co-produced.
He continued: “The only thing that concerns me right now is when will this global pandemic end? I pray to God that our doctors and scientists can find a cure to fight this disease, so that we can get back with our lives”.
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The relief fund that many stars have extended to daily wage workers will take care of those who are members of some association or are registered workers. But Bollywood is full of strugglers and out-of-work people who do not belong to these groups. What about them?
“My message to all the struggling actors is they should utilize the time. There are lots of good films and series on various OTT platforms that you can watch, read good books, do exercise and meditation and don’t get depressed. There’s a lot that you can do at these moment that will help you in the future. The most important thing is not to get depressed since you can’t go out and give auditions. Still, you can do a lot at the same time,” he said.