Now more than ever, celebs need to act responsibly

Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan. Pics/AFP

The police registered an FIR against actors Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan and Sohail's son Nirvaan Khan at a BMC health official's complaint that the trio evaded institutional quarantine of seven days after returning from the UAE last month.

Police said that on arriving in the city on December 25, they underwent COVID-19 tests at the airport and told the officials concerned that they were headed to hotel Taj Land's End for quarantine, but instead they went to their Bandra West residence.

Now, widely followed reports state that the trio is in institutional quarantine at a Bandra hotel. There are reports too, that they attended their brother, actor Salman Khan's birthday in Panvel, though this was yet to be confirmed at the time of writing this. Civic authorities said that those who attended the party will now have to be traced. This is the second high-profile violation of COVID-19 protocols after Indian cricketers stirred up a huge controversy in Australia, where they were accused of breaching the bio-bubble. There has been plenty of debate about this.

We note though that celebrities have a bigger responsibility to adhere to guidelines than others. Scream unfair if you must but unfortunately, given the high-visibility world that we live in, the intense and at times searing scrutiny that the famous are subjected to, they need to set their personal bar extremely high.

This behaviour comes at a time when state governments are planning to rope in religious leaders and famous people for their vaccination campaigns. Earning big bucks through achievements, carving out an image and public adulation has another side too - maintaining your connection with people and your conduct in the public with integrity and responsibility. Breaking COVID regulations, and, possibly putting others in danger is reckless and reprehensible.