I have been working in films for the last 10 years. To shoot Bellbottom, I was able to get out of the confines of my apartment, but at the same time, I felt sad to leave behind my son, Kabir, who’s all of 10, and my wife Kristen. It was a very mixed feeling. For five months, I had been at home, cooking and baking for him, dancing and playing music.

At the same time, to be able to work again, in every sense of the word, was a great thing. One is practicing what one loves a lot. But the apprehension was there in terms of travel, and what it would be like once we go to Scotland. I had also heard that 15 days of quarantine is a must. We had already gotten used to it, but for those who live with a family, quarantine in a hotel room is very different.

I reached from Delhi to Mumbai to catch our charter flight, and spent the night in a hotel. The hotels were just opening up then, and all the restrictions made it feel a bit strange. Once we arrived at the airport, everything was smooth. We all had got our Coronavirus tests done 48 hours in advance, organised by the production. All 150 crew members boarded a flight, wearing our masks and shields. We played housie in the plane, keeping social distancing absolutely intact, and food was given in packets – there was no luxury.

The implementation there at the shoot by Scottish authorities was well managed, and in time. We had a great chef, who lives there in Glasgow, and had fun shooting. I have worked with Akshay Kumar in Good Newwz earlier as well and Huma (Qureshi) is a friend. Lara (Dutta Bhupathi) and Vaani (Kapoor) I hadn’t met before. Those not shooting though were required to stay at hotel, and they were not gallivanting on set. I finished early in 20 days, and didn’t have to wait to come back as flights had resumed. I had to undergo a test again 48 hours before coming back, and then I again quarantined in Delhi after landing, for 15 days.

I absolutely feel that we should resume working. There are some people, those who are well paid like actors and directors, DOPs… A lot of people imagine that we all are paid huge amounts of money, but very few people get that.

There are people who are daily earners such as light boys and other crew members and for that I think it is extremely important for the industry to function and resume their work. If not for anything else then at least for survival and for doing some work which they love. It’s gratifying and for our mental and emotional health too, it’s very important.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are author’s personal