Navi Mumbai: Actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar, with a film crew, is currently in Matheran where Babbar pulled a hand-rickshaw in the hill station to showcase the plight of people on Saturday as part of a web series shoot. He took a number of rides in hand-pulled rickshaws. On seeing this film shoot, locals started demanding that the e-rickshaw trial commence sooner. Actors Atul Kulkarni, Ayesha Jhulka and director J D Majethia were also present.

The four, with over 200 crew members, are in Matheran since Tuesday. The crew stayed in a heritage bungalow. Raj Babbar pulled a hand-rickshaw at Matheran railway station and other locations and later enjoyed an amusement ride with a few rickshaw pullers.

“As photos of the film crew went viral on social media, we started a drive to support the e-rickshaw campaign to show our plight,” said Shivaji Shinde, a local.

Director J D Majethia said some of the actors declined to take a ride, citing the plight of the handrickshaw pullers, but he added that all workers must have a steady livelihood. “In some places, battery-operated vehicles have replaced hand-pulled ones; so why not in Matheran? However, the beauty of Matheran should be kept intact with battery-operated rickshaws,” said Majethia.

“Senior actors like Raj Babbar have shown the world the locals’ plight. Director J D Majethia also has appealed to the authorities to provide battery-operated rickshaws in the hill station to showcase it to the world,” said activist Sunil Shinde.

Damu Wagh, a hand rickshaw puller, said: “They were taken to Matheran railway station, Charlotte lake, and other places.”

Ambalal Waghela, another rickshaw puller, said, “I had brought Babbar from the parking area of Dasturi Naka to the heritage bungalow on Tuesday.”

Monika Rawal Kukreja (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 7, 2020)

Whether it’s through social media or otherwise, Randeep Hooda doesn’t really let anyone enter his personal space. And the actor is following the same mantra during the Coronavirus lockdown, too. Isolating in his Mumbai apartment with his puppy, he is missing “photography, my horses and working on set”. However, he’s glad to have a lot of spare time. “I’m doing voice exercises on the harmonium, imagination exercises, contemplating staging a production, reading scripts, books, poetry, catching up on shows,” Hooda, 43, tells us.

Mention how most celebs are going all out on social media giving glimpses of their daily routine, Hooda takes a sigh of relief having kept that temptation away. “Why would I want people to know what I’m doing inside my house? I have no interest in that... I have no interest in watching other people do that either,” he says. Hoods explains for many, it’s the “need to reach out to people” to feel connected that leads to the social media overload. “People think, ‘So many people interacted with my thoughts or what I’ve posted’. It has got good and bad [sides]. I prefer to look at the good, ignore the other,” he says, quoting ‘to each their own’ philosophy.

Not many know that besides contributing for PM-Cares, Hooda, a wildlife enthusiast, has also done his bit for Matheran horses, besides running a #FriendInNeed pilot campaign for Tadoba Tiger Reserve (in Maharashtra). “There are a lot of people — guides, drivers, hotel staff — whose livelihoods depend on the forest. With my friend Sarosh Lodhi, we did a project through CLAW (Conservation Lenses & Wildlife), where we paid the field director of the park for 400 families in need,” shares Hooda, adding that it was kept completely non photo-op, “because I’ve seen some terrible photos of one person receiving things from 13 people. We didn’t want that.”
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‘Prepare for the new normal’

I went to Irrfan Khan’s funeral; he was buried right next to my house. I realised that nobody could hug anybody, and we (Indians) are very affectionate, and physical people... Thinking twice about getting in others’ personal space is something that’s definitely going to change... I hope we come out as a better race, a more considerate species.

MUMBAI MIRROR (September 12, 2016)

Randeep Hooda makes a case for stabling and treating the animals right during a trip to the hill station
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 24, 2016) 



A week ago, Randeep Hooda was shocked when Adhuna Akhtar who is a fellow member of the Mahalaxmi riders' club sent him a video on Whatsapp which came with a plea to save horses from ill-treatment in Matheran. The actor who owns several champion horses and is a vocal animal lover, immediately took off with his friend and another club member, Adil Gandhi and his son Riyaad, with medicines for the horses many of whom sported open, painful sores in the video.

"These are basically load horses which carry goods for hotels, shops and villagers up the hills. Their load has gone up since the iconic toy train was stopped following a derailment. Some of the smaller horses are lugging three-six gas cylinders on one trip. Even when the train operated, because it ran on diesel, it refused to carry gas cylinders," Randeep explains.

Unfortunately, alerted that this incriminating video was circulating on the social network, the owners spirited away the animals before the actor and his friends arrived last Saturday, June 18. "But Roxanne who runs an animal shelter in Matheran showed us some of the other animals, many of them riding horses, with lesser injuries, and we got them treated. We left behind the medicines for the others," says Randeep, adding that he is not a rabble-rousing animal activist and understands that these horses are a source of livelihood for their owners who don't hurt them intentionally. "We want to educate them to look after these horses better or they won't last long."

He bemoans the fact that Matheran is a unique hill station where the Gram Panchayat, the Nagar Palika and the Forest Department are in conflict and as a result the animals suffer. "Like traffic rules, we need some horse rules there and have urged the cops to be more vigilant, ensure the animals are not being over-burdened and the law flouted. After the train stopped, more cars are going up and in the crush for parking space there are no stables for the horses," he sighs.

Is he planning another trip there? Randeep explains that this one was to put pressure on the authorities but now he will leave it to the Gandhis, some animals lovers from Pune and NGOs from Delhi to carry the good work forward. "I have adopted some horses like these that were ailing but how many can I adopt? The solution is to stable these horses and get the owners to treat them right," he signs off on an optimistic note.

Mohar Basu (BOMBAY TIMES; April 5, 2016)

Neha Maheshwri Bhagat (BOMBAY TIMES; January 8, 2014)

Abhinav Shukla is an adventure sports junkie. When not shooting, he likes to go trekking and explore new places. However, a recent outing turned into a nightmare for Abhinav and his friend, when they were stuck on the ledge of a hill in Matheran for over 12 hours.

Says the actor, “My friend and I wanted to trek to Chanderigad, a fort located at 1200 feet in Matheran forests. At 4 pm, it was a bit late to start, but since it was only a two-hour trek, we decided to go ahead. We had planned to camp overnight and so, I carried the tent, sleeping bag, stove, knives and camera. My friend was carrying food and water. When it got dark, we wanted to cut short the distance and so, left the trekking track and started climbing a steep dried out stream. The initial climb, though tough, was manageable. When it was almost dark, we reached a slope too steep to climb without a rope. My friend, who was ahead of me by 10 ft, refused to climb down as it was very difficult. Instead, he climbed up some 150 ft more and settled on the ledge of a hill. I too had to climb up as I had no water or food. However, I had to leave behind our tent, sleeping bags, stove and camera as they were too heavy. On the ledge, we realised that going down the slope without ropes and rock climbing equipment is impossible. We had only two options -- to either stay on the ledge, which was 3 ft by 5 ft, till someone finds us, or climbing down with only 10 per cent chances of survival. We decided to stay put. We spent the night without sleep, surviving on just two litres of water and one packet of instant noodles.”

So, how did he get saved? “Fortunately, I had some 14% battery left in my mobile phone and sent an SOS to my brother and friend Rajesh Khera. It was very cold and we also feared snakes and civet cats in the area. Fearing that we might have to survive for long, we even stored our urine - when dehydrated, it could keep us alive for a few more hours. Thanks to my ability to navigate and understand stars and constellations, I was able to message my location somehow.” Hope came at dawn when Rajesh, accompanied by a rescue team, appeared over the mountain pass. The rescue mission took five hours.