Just when we thought Bollywood’s string of donations is about to save them from the wrath of going irrelevant amid the coronavirus pandemic, their quarantine woes have irked us even more. Cooking, cleaning, and the unending workout videos may seem good once in a while to break the negativity around us, but having a narrow approach with a clumsy defense is something we did not expect from Deepika Padukone.
The leggy lass, who appeared in a Hangout video with journalist Rajeev Masand, said that “I know a lot of people have a problem with exercise videos that are going up, but to be honest, putting up exercise videos — rather, exercising, not putting up videos — it’s more about how you feel. It’s not really about how you look.”
This comes after Farah Khan shared a post appealing her B-town peers to stop sharing exercise videos, because there are bigger concerns currently in the world. Not that this was directed to Deepika, but to everyone in general, Farah had said, “Stop making your workout videos and bombarding us with it. I can understand that you all are privileged and you do not have any other worries in this global pandemic except for looking after your figures. But some of us, most of us, have bigger concerns during this crisis. Toh please humare upar reham kijiye aur aapke workout videos bandh kar dijiye (So please have mercy on us and stop your workout videos). And if you can’t stop, then please don’t feel bad if I unfollow you.”
It seems like Deepika missed watching Farah’s opinion. At least as of now the filmmaker is making way more sense than majority of tinsel town.
So here’s our take. Quarantine comes with privilege. The fact that we’re able to stay at home surrounded by luxury, eating four meals in a day, with a warm bed to sleep or an air conditioner to soothe us in this boiling weather, we’re living a life far better than the migrant workers walking across state borders to get home.
Doing the dishes, or cleaning the house, or how to stay fit at home isn’t the greatest concern for anyone on their timeline. It’s just an escape for those who are facing the real issues. Some of us have been doing work without house-help for ages and don’t need celebs to inculcate those values in us (perhaps spoilt brats can learn a thing or two, but besides that it’s pointless).
Deepika further said, “Of course it’s serious, we’re all grown up enough and intelligent enough to understand what to do to prevent it, but you’ve also got to get through the day. It’s not one day, it’s not one week. Its 21 days. A lot of people don’t realise the emotional impact it has on a lot of people.”
Let’s talk about emotional impact now shall we. One could easily get through the day if they can sleep well knowing their bank balance won’t empty on its own, or their household won’t face the shortage of ration. Ms Padukone, are you aware the lengths people go to just to refill their essential goods like rice, atta, or salt? Oh and not to mention having your own vehicle with a VIP pass to function around the city without getting beaten by cops? Also if we talk about your favourite topic mental health, in these times, for people living alone, especially senior citizens, how are we to reach out to them when they’re technologically challenged. Or how does a person with same anxiety and depression as yours cope with life, without any guidance or help amid this lockdown? So yes, a lot of people do realise the impact, but don’t whine about it in an interview because they’ve got no choice.
We’re all aware that we are living in a country of deep inequities. While maybe .1% of our population lives like filthy rich bicoastal of the US, enjoying things even more because of unmatched cheap labour, the rest of India has trouble figuring out where they are going to get their next meal. The least we can do in times of such turpitude is rub our privilege in their faces.