With theatres having downed their shutters for the better part of 2020 as well as this year, those employed at cinemas have faced acute financial strain. Tisca Chopra is lending a helping hand to the community by hosting a ration donation drive — which will cater to 1,000 workers who have been rendered jobless amid the pandemic — at PVR Citi Mall in Andheri today. “I always think of Cinema Paradiso [1988] when I think of theatre workers. In small towns, cinemas are perhaps the only source of entertainment, and the workers are a part of the lives of the locals. They have been out of work all this while. So, I felt we must reach out in whatever way we can,” says Chopra, adding that the basmati rice brand, India Gate, has collaborated with her to distribute essentials among those in need. Over the next few weeks, the drive will be conducted in different parts of Maharashtra, thus reaching out to a wider section of people.

While she had initially started Tisca’s Table with chef Vikas Khanna to facilitate conversations between bright minds, Chopra has of late used the platform to extend support to the marginalised communities. “If each one of us does our bit, we may not have too much suffering in terms of food and essentials. [Media entrepreneur] Gautam Thakker has helped us set up this initiative with the theatre workers’ association, and exhibitor Akshaye Rathi has ensured that food reaches all over Maharashtra, including the Vidarbha region. We want to expand Tisca’s Table to welcome international funding, thus enabling relief work.”