As the number of COVID-19 cases are going down, life is slowly getting back to normal. As many know, malls have reopened for the fully vaccinated people and restaurants are also functioning till 10 pm. Also, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray recently announced that cinema halls will be reopening from October 22. Following the announcement, many directors announced the release dates of their respective films. Given the current change, celebrities too are beyond happy. From Delnaz Irani to Parull Chaudhry, here are many celebs who shared their excitement and plans.
DELNAAZ IRANI
I am super excited. I think it’s only fair that everybody gets a fair chance to earn. Malls are opening up, restaurants have opened doors, and the time has been extended, so it's lovely. I am fully vaccinated, so yes I can go shopping at my favourite mall which is very close to my house. I am very thrilled about it. I think life should come back to normal and we all should quickly get vaccinated, that is our responsibility as well. Everything cannot be put on the other side, I think as citizens we also need to cooperate with the government for our own safety and the one thing that we can do is get vaccinated.
We must also take care of when we are stepping out, how we are travelling, mask should be on, sanitise and maintain distance. This virus is here to stay for how long we don’t know, and like the way we kind of surpassed this beautifully, this too shall pass. All and all I am very happy and will soon start visiting restaurants and theatres.
PARULL CHAUDHRY
I am so happy with this decision and things opening up. I even can’t remember when was the last time I went to a restaurant or to a mall. This February, before the second lockdown, during my birthday, I went to a restaurant. This indeed is a welcome change by the government and I am happy that they have made fully-vaccinated clauses compulsory. At this point of time I have to wait because my second dose is left. I hope people will be more responsible now as we have to control the spread of this deadly virus. This Independence Day, we literally got the freedom to go out and enjoy under certain rules and regulations.
NIVEDITA BASU
I don’t know if it’s a good idea to open malls because the delta variant has just about set its foot in Mumbai, Maharashtra, now because some people have stopped wearing masks, unfortunately. Whenever I step out of work, 60% of the people are not even wearing masks. I don’t know how soon another lockdown is happening. Restaurants are fine because they can still control the number of people coming in only and with the time extending things would be better. I think more people can now come to a restaurant and instead of waiting outside and crowding they can just space up and probably make it from 100% to 70-80% so that everyone's happy, able to enjoy and earn too. We all have been missing out on earlier life, especially children.
My daughter misses going out. Many children have not been to school, don't know friends, haven’t developed social skills and have been only subjected to online study. But I am still worried about children stepping out, especially after what happened in Bengaluru, where 300 kids between the ages of 10 and 12 years, got infected by the virus when schools restarted. The delta variant apparently affects the kids more. I hope these people who wanted these malls and restaurants to open will also take precautions because it's not just their safety, one small mistake might put many other lives at risk. I will go and watch films with my friends.
CHITRA VAKIL SHARMA
Finally the feeling of a comeback is happening and I am going to go back to shopping and dine out. It's important to start living normally once you are fully vaccinated and of course with precautions and following the other necessary norms. We are living life in fear and we need to be out of it soon. I am definitely missing going to restros with family and friends. Every Sunday evening meal would be a family meal. My hubby, Ajay, our daughter, Tanvi, and I, would go to a new restaurant and explore the feeling of normalcy again. Shopping to me is therapy. And a foodie like me loves to try new cuisines. I am fully vaccinated and take all precautions. As long as we follow norms and become socially responsible we may soon start living life without these restrictions. We are happy that our time of taking holidays, weekend outings, shopping and eating etc is back. I will go and watch Sooryavanshi with my sister Rohini Vakil.
KAVERI PRIYAM
Yes indeed we all are waiting for normalcy. We all were actually craving it for a really long time now. Malls getting opened are a good thing and that too for only fully vaccinated people makes us feel all the more secure. It's good news. I would love to visit the mall because I am fully vaccinated now. Even people who have been working and earning and doing their jobs in malls and supermarkets and it's good for them as well. Theatres were missed big time. There is no substitute for watching films in theatres.
HASAN ZAIDI
Well, I think it’s a welcome change more than anything else. We have suffered for a long time and most of us have been taking precautions. The virus has created havoc but we have systems in place, we have all the checks done. We citizens need to be responsible. On the other hand, the economics of the world, especially the hospitality sector, has been devastated. It is one sector which has been completely annihilated. It's a positive change that everyone is slowly being allowed to earn again. But you have to wear your mask, sanitise and maintain distance.
You cannot live under fear and threat throughout because that in any case is a negative emotion and state of being. Know about your fears, be responsible but move on in life as we say in our line of work, the show must go on. I hope businesses bounce back. When businesses bounce back, people bounce back, the nation bounces back and we head towards a better future. I am looking forward to watching films in the theatre.
SMITA DONGRE
Of course it seems conditions are getting normal. No, I haven't visited any mall or restaurant yet. Yes of course I am missing it. I miss going to the theatre too. All the technicians and artists of our industry are suffering. The good thing is that we have come closer to each other, have become compassionate. We have also got a little bit of peace of mind because of it. We are spending a lot of our time at home. Earlier there was a rat race but now everything has come to a controlled state. We have come closer to our family and people, with whom we had sort of lost contact earlier because we were running earlier. Biggest thing is that our expectations have gone down. I have not gone out anywhere neither in restaurants nor malls, probably I will now.
DHUSSHYANT WAG
Finally malls, restaurants are opening up... Unfortunately here in India people don't like following rules much. Clearly if the social distancing rule is not followed in public places the third wave will come and there are chances of Covid cases increasing in coming months. That is a thing we all need to take care of and must worry about. Of course I will visit restaurants and malls, but I have been missing doing these activities. As you know I am a big junk food lover. Eating in restaurants is a different feeling altogether. You go with friends, family and sometimes you go by yourself, but it's a different environment and ambience when you eat out. There you go, spend time and readymade cutlery and food come in front of you. Of course I have been missing that experience. I would like my earlier life to restart soon. I wouldn't want coronavirus to spread again. We will have to take care and to maintain social distance so that we are free to enjoy ourselves. I am looking forward to the cinematic experience
Image source: Instagram/officialdelnaazirani/parullchaudhry