“I haven’t earned any money for a year and a half, and am down to the last little pennies now,” confesses actor Ayub Khan, who fears that if the ongoing Coronavirus crisis doesn’t get under control and work doesn’t get back on track soon, he’d have no other option but to look for help.

Referring to the 15-day shutdown imposed in Maharashtra given the spike in cases and how shoots have again been stalled, he says, “It is affecting work and our emotional state as everyone is struggling. It’s been 1.5 year since I’ve not been working [regularly]. I’ve earned no money. So, the strain is huge.”

But, he understands there’s not much he can do about the scenario, because it is not a “normal situation”. The 52-year-old elaborates, “You can’t do anything. You just have to make do with whatever you have. And, God forbid, if things go from bad to worse, one will have to put out a hand for help. What else can you do?”

The actor rose to fame on the big screen over two decades ago, and has since then, also achieved recognition on the small screen. At the moment, while Khan is somehow managing things, he fears he won’t be able to continue doing so for long. “So, I do hope things get better soon and everyone gets back on track,” says the actor, who has featured in shows such as Uttaran and Shakti: Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki.

For Khan, the crisis is personal as he has seen family members and friends fighting and losing the battle. “I lost two of my uncles and a couple of friends. My uncle walked into the hospital and his dead body came out,” he shares, and prays no one goes through that grief.

However, the carelessness of people has left him worried. “Today, even educated people are saying, ‘Arey kuch nahin’. Just because it doesn’t happen to them, their near and dear ones, they don’t feel the pinch. The moment it’ll hit their near ones, tab jhatka lagega,” says Khan, petrified by the current wave of the crisis in the country.