Riya Sharma (BOMBAY TIMES; July 14, 2020)

Though her Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 coactor Parth Samthaan tested positive for Coronavirus, Pooja Banerjee, who is awaiting her test results, is trying to remain optimistic. “When we act, we can’t wear a mask. So, my first thought (when I heard about Parth) was that I was in direct contact with him and will have to get tested. I had a ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen?’ moment, but I realised my whole unit is scared, so I calmed down. My production head was aware of the situation, so when I spoke to him, he said I could go home after getting myself tested,” she says. Quarantining at home, Pooja shares, “We don’t know for how long the shoot has been stalled. When we returned to work, we knew something like this could happen. The fact that it happened to someone who’s right across my make-up room, is a very good friend and is my co-actor, is scary, but I need to be optimistic. Everyone on the set wore masks, maintained distance and took precautions.”

Pooja adds that some people have been mocking TV actors for shooting in such times, but they don’t realise that many depend on TV for survival. She says, “We don’t get due credit as entertainers and artistes, and some people mock us for working amid the pandemic. There are many dependent on TV shows for their livelihood. I saw the fear on the faces of my crew when this happened. As an actor, it’s tough for us to be completely safe as we shoot without masks. I’ve been sanitising my jewellery, carrying my UV (sanitiser box), our production unit keeps sanitising the sets... iss se zyada, what else can you do?”