Over the past week, Manoj Bajpayee and wife Neha have been quarantining at their Andheri home, their daughter Ava Nayla a few rooms away. The actor, 51, who tested Coronavirus positive last week, says his first priority is to ensure his daughter’s safety. “She is kept away from us in the same house. It has been a difficult time for us, knowing that we have our little one at home,” he says.

Bajpayee was shooting for Kanu Behl’s Despatch when he was diagnosed with the virus. The film’s shoot was immediately brought to a halt. Only a few days earlier, the director too was down with the infection. One to believe in being safe rather than sorry, the actor says he practiced caution over the past few months as he dubbed for The Family Man 2 and filmed Despatch. “I have followed protocols to the T. I have given dates to people shooting back-to-back. I feel frustrated when this happens [not because of] my fault, but due to somebody else’s carelessness.”

Currently on the road to recovery, he emphasises the need to stay vigilant. “We don’t have any symptoms now, but [the disease] is unpredictable. Suddenly, it throws up some symptoms or [body] pain. It’s better to be careful.”

Work, however, hasn’t stopped for Bajpayee. He is promoting the upcoming ZEE5 release, Silence: Can You Hear It? from the confines of his room. The actor, who plays a cop investigating a murder case, says he is glad that director Aban Bharucha Deohans gave him an opportunity to explore the mystery genre. “My character is a quick-thinking guy, and has a quirky sense of humour, which attracted me to him. I have always been choosy [about my projects]. There have been a few [choices] that didn’t go down well, but I embrace all my bad decisions.”