Neha Maheshwri (BOMBAY TIMES; June 18, 2020)

Like most of us, actress Nupur Alankar had saved penny by penny, over the years, thinking that it would help her tide through rainy days. However, today, even with a healthy ‘bank balance’, she is grappling with acute financial distress. So much so, she can’t afford medical intervention for her mother, who is suffering from multiple health complications, including Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and pulmonary hypertension.

Nupur’s life turned upside down following the Punjab & Maharashtra Co-Operative (PMC) Bank collapse last year. Her family’s accounts, including her own, were frozen. To make ends meet, she sold off her jewellery and also borrowed money from her friends and relatives. She tells BT, “My mother had a mild heart attack in 2018. She couldn’t take the PMC collapse and suffered three more attacks on October 8, 13 and December 8, last year. However, she refused to be hospitalised, fearing that it would be a costly affair. I started practising alternative therapies as a secondary source of income, but it stopped due to the Coronavirus pandemic. By then, we had exhausted all our savings. My husband (Alankar Srivastava) and I had no choice but to rent out our flat for extra money and shift with our respective parents. However, the lockdown worsened my financial woes as my tenant vacated the flat. I had to borrow money to repay her down payment.”

Friends and members from the fraternity did help, but eventually, she had to explore other options. She shares, “Help poured in from many friends, but the medical and other expenses kept rising. Then came a point where I started approaching various NGOs for free medicines. Soon, I realised that things had further spiralled out of control. That’s when I posted the details regarding my mother’s health complications on a crowdfunding platform. I was apprehensive initially, but my friend, actress Rajeshwari Sachdev, convinced me to do it for the sake of my mother. I have no shame in asking people for money, it’s for my mother’s treatment. I am especially grateful to Akshay Kumar, Renuka Shahane, Ayub Khan, Hetal Parmar, Darshan Jariwala, Manoj Joshi and CINTAA for helping me.”

However, the struggle is not over yet. Nupur says, “My mother can’t be hospitalised because of her flailing health, which makes her more susceptible to the novel Coronavirus. For now, we will have to make do with whatever medical aid we can arrange for her at home.”
----------------------
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 18, 2020)

On June 9, actor Renuka Shahane had, in a Facebook post, sought financial help for her friend, actor Nupur Alankar. A few days later, they found an “angel” in actor Akshay Kumar.

“An angel from our film industry has helped Nupur…At a time when there is this raging debate about people not being there for each other, this angel has proved that there are gems like him who will stand by someone in need…@akshaykumar ji A man with a heart of pure, unadulterated gold,” Shahane tweeted.

Alankar was in need of ₹6,00,000 for her mum’s treatment, and her social media appeal caught Shahane’s attention. “I feel Akshay sir is bhagwan ka roop,” Alankar continues, “He doesn’t know me, yet he came to my aid. I don’t have words to express how grateful I am. He didn’t ask for any papers or test reports; he transferred more than what I needed to my mother’s account. I can never thank him enough.”