“Stay positive, stay inspired and stay focused on your health. That’s most important,” says Aftab Shivdasani, who announced he had tested positive for Covid-19 on September 11. Now, that he is free of Coronavirus, he is exhilarated. “I have got my freedom back as not feeling free was the worst feeling in the world,” he admits.

Days before the actor was supposed to travel he felt feverish, had weakness and headaches. So he got himself tested and “unfortunately”, it was positive. “When it happens to others, you read or hear about it. But when you test positive, your mind travels in all directions. I took hold of myself and changed travel plans etc.,” says Shivdasani.

He credits his wife, Nin Dusanj, who gave him “mental support”. “She told me to stop worrying. That innate worry is tough to escape and luckily, my symptoms were mild, and I’m better,” he shares.

He agrees that there is stigma attached to being Covid-19 positive. “You would rather know than not. Half of the battle is to hang in there and to be strong mentally. It gets bad when you start panicking,” he says.