One year ago, the country went into its first stage of lockdown. The world came to a standstill and so did the actors. Television actor Viraf Patell looks back at the pandemic times
Viraf Patell (Photo credit/PR)
In March, 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the spread of the coronavirus as a pandemic. It has been a year since we had to unexpectedly and dramatically alter the way we live. In fact, most of those changes are still part of our daily routines. While the year was filled with anxiety and helplessness, it wasn't the case for television actor Viraf Patell, who said that the pandemic was "kind" to me.
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Reminiscing the lockdown period, Viraf says, "Fortunately for me and unfortunately for my fiancé Saloni Khanna, she was locked down with me at my house in Mumbai. Through the entire lockdown, she had to deal with my bad jokes, culinary experiments and movie watching. After the unlock, her parents saw that she didn't run back to her home in Delhi, so they gave their blessings and I put a ring on her and now she is gonna be locked in with me a little longer. So the first thing the pandemic gave me is my partner Saloni!"
A few days into the lockdown, Viraf initiated an interactive project to raise funds for people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The contribution from the participants went towards helping migrant labourers, children, sex workers and wildlife via six credible NGOs. "I got a nod from some of the kind actors known to me but then I had to figure a way to put it all together. Thankfully, I had Saloni and my neighbour Jahan to help me. Thus, ‘chatforgood.org’ was born. We ended up raising over a million and a half rupees for migrant labourers, sex workers and wild animals. It remains as some of the most meaningful work I may have been able to do in my life. So the next thing the pandemic gave me is a chance to create chatforgood.org."
Viraf further added, "The third thing the pandemic gave me was the magic of Boman Irani. He has had the misfortune of mentoring me for the last 15 years. So on 5th April 2020, he messaged me and asked me if I was interested in joining his daily online screenwriting sessions. I asked him about his fee and he said 'Shut up! It’s free. Just come and learn'. 6th April 2020, I had my 1st online class and as of today he has conducted over 278 sessions, of which I have managed to attend 270."
This screenwriting education phenomenon is called ‘Spiral Bound’ by Boman Irani. Thanks to these 'Spiral Bound' sessions, Viraf has come up with a few scripts of his own in the lockdown. "If they ever get greenlit and made they will open with a thank you to Boman Irani and my fellow bounders. So yes the third thing the pandemic gave me is 'Spiral Bound', which to a student of storytelling like me is nothing short of a vaccine."
Having worked in popular television shows such as "Mahi Way", "Kismat", and "Naamkarann" amongst others, Viraf will make his big-screen debut in director Amin Hajee's upcoming film Koi Jaane Na. The film also has a cameo by actor Aamir Khan.
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