All of us will have to come together than be selfish: Manav Kaul – bollywood

The lockdown has taught everyone to be independent and self-sufficient. For me, things have been more or less the same as I don’t socialise much. The worrisome part is that no one has a clue when we can go back to work. The uncertainty is weighing heavy on everyone,” says Manav Kaul.

He adds, “Like many others, even I don’t know how will I take care of expenses, as I have a staff to take care of and my family too. No one has any answers about the future. People don’t have money saved to pay rents as they have not been getting pay cheques for 3 months many theatre people don’t have savings to bank on. I am feeling helpless and am helping who I can. We will all have to come together than be selfish and think mera kya fayada.” He has not only been practicising social distancing but also social media distancing as the posts being put up and “messages being forwarded on whatsapp too are ridiculous”.

The Tumhari Sulu (2017) actor was supposed to shoot for a film, a web series and open a new play too. He states, “Everything is on hold as of now. I don’t know when will we be able to open the play or shoot again. While people are talking about theatres, having limited seating during an experimental play would be next to impossible. I have been using this time to write and will release a collection of short stories soon, and I am also working on a fictional story on Covid-19 next.” He was last seen in the web show, The Verdict – State vs Nanavati.

Looking back at the last two months, Kaul remembers his friend Irrfan Khan, who passed away a month ago. “Bahut dukhad tha… It was sad that most of us couldn’t attend his funeral and pay our respects. I remember when I came to Mumbai in ‘98, I only had his phone number. In fact, my first role was in the TV show Banegi Apni Baat with him. We would drive around in his car and later when he made a name for himself in Hollywood, meri chati chaudi ho gayi. I was so proud of him. He had so much more to give to the world of cinema,” he concludes.