Amitabh Bachchan and Anand Pandit recently teamed up to open a fully-equipped 25-bed Covid treatment facility in Juhu for the poor. Speaking exclusively to ETimes, the producer confirms that this isn’t the megastar’s first initiative. “Amit ji has been provided many relief activities and help for Covid-19 situation but all that hasn’t been covered in the headlines,” tells Anand. He also added to it that he also came to know about the measures that Amit ji and Ajay Devgan were trying to carry out in Shivaji Park and he offered to help. “He was totally hands-on from that point forward, interested in every detail. He’d call me almost every day to see how things were going and to inquire about the latest features we’d added “The producer agrees.
“During the first week after the lockdown last year, I saw a large number of construction workers who wanted to go back home but had tremendous income constraints,” Anand says when asked what prompted him to start his initiatives. Their plight had a profound effect on me at the time, and I decided that they should not be forced to move from one difficult circumstance to another. I tried to make sure that while in Mumbai , they had enough food and all the daily essentials that were needed. There was a particular family which suffered a lot. That greatly impacted me and I decided that no one should ever have to run around for basic things.”
“Our COVID relief initiative is intended to be far-reaching and is meant for not just people in Mumbai or Maharashtra, but everyone who is in need,” the filmmaker, who has collaborated with Amitabh Bachchan on their upcoming film ‘Chehre,’ says.Since I’m based in Mumbai, it’s a Mumbai-centric initiative, but they’re open to anyone who wants to use their facilities and services. On that front, there is no prejudice at all. Also, we’re talking about expanding the effort beyond Mumbai, especially in rural India, where I believe the pandemic is raging.”
“If I can do anything for anybody,” Anand says, noting that he has gone through a lot of hardship and understands how difficult it is to live without help or assistance. When I see suffering, which there is a lot of right now, I am inspired by a desire to help. The most important thing for me is to be thankful for the gift of life, friends, and family, as well as the opportunities we have to make a difference. To witness misery and do nothing is incomprehensible to me. It hurts my heart to see people fighting for even the most basic necessities such as a bed, medications, and oxygen.
Every individual should be able to appreciate the gift of life, and if I am fortunate enough to have resources, I must expand my table, share my blessings, and ease the pain of someone who has nothing to fall back on.”
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My name is Srishti Gupta. I like writing about the latest events in Bollywood. I am a news writer at Review Minute.