Aman Yatan Verma lost his mother, Kailash Verma, on 18 April and had shared an emotional note on Instagram. The actor says he hadn’t met his mum since before the pandemic and later, didn’t want to as he was shooting, and was “scared she would get Coronavirus. Now, she is gone, passed away 12 minutes before I reached the hospital,” says Verma.

On 11 April, his 79-year-old mother slipped at home and two days later, was admitted to a Noida hospital. “Though she tested negative for Covid, she had other health complications including hypertension and obesity. Five days later, the oxygen saturation in her body reduced to a dangerous level. It was at the crematorium in Noida, where I realised the gravity of the pandemic. It was heart-breaking and scary to see the queued up ambulances. Though last rites are supposed to be scared, but the electric crematorium got so crowded that they had to cremate non-Covid with Covid patients. It was scary,” he states.

Verma has been voicing his opinion on social media, wondering why none of the big wigs and celebrities are talking about the situation. “No one is talking about what is happening in our country. People are going through losses and every day one hears of news of colleagues and peers passing away,” he says. It has been a difficult phase for him and his family and he advises people to not step out. “Unfortunately, as an actor, I can’t work online and have to be physically out there and have to take the risk,” he concludes.