The nationwide lockdown has badly impacted the entertainment industry, as many television actors are struggling to maintain their lifestyle with their sources of income drying out. TV actors are mostly paid on a daily basis and as the industry remains shut for over a month now, these artists are having a tough time amid this pandemic.
Actress Shruti Sharma, who appears on Star Plus show Nazar, says, “Yes, Covid-19 and the lockdown have affected our lives and sources of income badly. My show ended during the lockdown because of the financial loss this industry is facing right now. This is the saddest thing that has happened to me. The other thing is that I don’t have a lot of savings to survive through this phase.”
Another actress and model Poulami Das who has acted in a Star Bharat show Kartik Purnima reminds how she is paid on a per-day basis. “I have not worked for almost two months now. So yes, I am absolutely jobless. Even if I have a job, I am jobless. Since the offices are shut, the pending cheques are also not cleared. Our producers are trying hard to clear bills but they are also suffering.
I have a humble request to the government to look after this. If this continues, a lot of people will give up,” she says. These actors face another hardship. Many of them come from other parts of the country and live in Mumbai in rented houses. It’s now a big challenge for many of them to even live in those houses without work. But not all are panicking. Actress and model Pranati Rai Prakash, who has appeared in the movie Love Aaj Kal, tells The Daily Guardian how her habit of spending money “wisely” is helping her these days.
“When it comes to financial decisions, I have always been wise. My parents have taught me the importance of saving money. I have, therefore, always spent money wisely and am glad I did that. That’s what I am surviving on right now,” she adds.