Comedian Mallika Dua, who has been working from hometown Delhi since lockdown, recounts how she had to let go of her Bandra flat due to soaring rent.
Mallika Dua
From the beginning, she kept a tab on the rising COVID-19 cases in the country, and stayed abreast of how the virus was wreaking havoc the world over. Yet, oddly, it was when the government announced theatre shutdown across the country on March 13, 2020, that Mallika Dua fully understood the gravity of the situation. Realising that airports would be the next to face restrictions, the actor-comedian booked herself on the next flight to Delhi. “I didn’t want to be far away from my parents in such a situation. The thought of ‘What if something happened to them?’ haunted me,” she recounts.
The first three months of the lockdown were filled with uncertainty. Even as the entertainment industry ground to a halt, Dua retained her Bandrapad. But, by June, her landlord had turned unsympathetic despite Dua continuing to pay full rent. “Instead of reducing the rent or keeping it unchanged, my landlord decided to increase it by 30 per cent. I had to leave the house. He forced me to vacate because he wanted to stay in the apartment for six months while he renovated his house. I couldn’t even be there during the shifting. From Delhi, I hired movers and packers, who, along with my driver, moved my stuff to a storage facility in Chembur. Luckily, I have the best friends one can ask for. They went to my place, video-called me, packed my precious items, and mailed them to me.”
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As the situation slowly improved, Dua began working from her Delhi home. “I started shooting for Flipkart’s show, Fake Or Not, in my basement.” Soon, work began pouring in – Myntra Fashion Superstar, Indoo Ki Jawani and the Netflix show, Comedy Premier League. “Fake Or Not did well, and was renewed for a fresh season. It was a simple show, shot with a two-person crew. The lockdown proved that people only care about content, and that can be created from anywhere in the world.”
Spending a year with her family after a decade of being independent has been a comforting feeling for Dua. While she renovated her Delhi home over the past year, she will to move back to Mumbai in the near future and find herself a cozy apartment. “It will happen once the vaccination phases for all ages are complete.”
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