Dealing with such a pandemic isn’t easy. But life will always throw challenges at us, how we get over them, defines us, feels Waheeda Rehman. The veteran actor says the Covid-19 crisis demands us “to be careful, sensible and intelligent”. And for none of these “one needs bookish knowledge”and just need to learn from life experiences.
“If you see, along with good times, we all deal with some crisis or the other all our lives. I’m not trying to draw a comparison. I feel it’s very important for us to be patient. If you get paranoid, it’ll only stress you out and you might end up making mistakes,” says the Padma Bhusan awardee.
Holed up inside her home with her daughter and family, Rehman admits it isn’t easy. “It’s like a catch 22 situation. Whether we’re at home or have to step out, we need to find a way. I see many flouting safety norms, not wearing masks properly since the lockdown has been eased. That’s absolutely wrong,” she rues.
With no intention of sounding philosophical, the actor, 82, says we know nothing about our future. “But we all know that we’ll have to die one day. Par darr darr ke nahi jee sakte. We must face difficulties headstrong and stay positive,” says Rehman, who’s spending time in lockdown watching films, doing yoga, taking a walk in the garden and enjoying her photography sessions.
Not much fond of mobile phones, Rehman, however, is feeling its necessity now, as it helps her stay connected with relatives and friends. “I talk to my sister, nephews and nieces a lot these days. Asha (Parekh; actor) aur Helen (actor) se bhi baat hoti rehti hai,” she says.
The actor’s family is also ensuring that they take care of their staff members well. “We can’t stop anyone’s salary. If we have food to eat then people who work for us should also have food on their table,” she says adding that “the priority right now is to be responsible towards ourselves, only then we can help others”.
Expressing concern around people facing mental health issues these days, she urges, “Agar aap yahi sochoge ki, ‘ab toh kuch nahi ho sakta, main mar jaunga’, toh usse kya hoga? It won’t solve the problem but aggravate it. Allah ka shukar karo, dil aur niyaat saaf rakho aur aagey badho.”
