Asha Parekh: “People  In  Mumbai Are Behaving As If The Virus Is Over”

The lockdown is back in  Mumbai. And   veteran actress Asha Parekh is relieved. She doesn’t like stepping out of her home.

 “It  isn’t safe,” she says sadly. “It isn’t even sane, the way  people were jostling  one  another  on the streets the cars were   honking and crowding the roads, as  if  the  virus was  over. It  was very frightening.”

Ashaji wishes to  advise Mumabaiyites  to  follow the   pandemic protocol.  “It isn’t  over. Far from it. We need to  follow the  guidelines  if we are to get over this.”

Ashaji  made it back  to her home in  Mumbai just before the lockdown. “I was in New Zealand when the  virus erupted.  Everyone back home  in Mumbai was panicking, ‘Ghar aa jao ghar aa jao.’ I finally flew  back on March 20.And  the  lockdown began on   March 22. I made  it just in time.  I shudder to think what  life would have been  like if I were stuck far away in a foreign country. Ghar  toh aakhir ghar hi hota hai(home is  home).”

Ashaji spends her time listening to a  lot of songs and watching  movies. Does she see  her own movies?

“Not  at all!  Never ! I don’t  like seeing myself on screen at all. I find a hundred things wrong with  my performance and looks. I’m very self-critical,” she confesses.

 Which  of her  films does she recommend  to the audience?  “Among my own  films, I find Bharosa, Do Badan, Kati Patang and Main  Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki  tolerable.”

She wonders when  shooting will resume. “And how will they shoot  romantic scenes and  action scenes? Suddenly  the world has changed.And so has the norms  of  living.”