Superstars from South have already chipped in towards relief operations

With Akshay Kumar donating ₹25 crore towards COVID-19 relief, hope was fuelled that more A list Bollywood personalities would now come forward with contributions.

“This is that time when all that matters is the lives of our people. And we need to do anything and everything it takes… Let’s save lives, Jaan hai toh jahaan hai,” Mr. Kumar tweeted, while pledging the amount to the newly formed Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund).

His tweet came almost in tandem with the tweet from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handle about the constitution of the PM-CARES Fund and his appeal to Indians to contribute to it. This Fund will also cater to similar distressing situations in future, the PM said.

Mr. Kumar was acknowledged for the “great gesture” by the PM. Author-columnist-actor and Mr. Kumar’s wife Twinkle Khanna tweeted that he had made her proud. “When I asked him if he was sure as it was such a massive amount and we needed to liquidate funds, he just said, ‘I had nothing when I started and now that I am in this position, how can I hold back from doing whatever I can for those who have nothing’.”

Bollywood had been in the eyes of the storm for a while now for doing little for the cause other than making awareness videos, specially in the light of superstars from the South — Prabhas, Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Chiranjeevi, Junior NTR and Ram Charan — contributing towards relief operations in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

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In Bollywood, Hrithik Roshan had recently contributed towards procurement of masks and other protective gear. “In times such as these, we must do whatever we can to ensure the safety of the most fundamental caretakers of our city and society. I have procured N95 and FFP3 masks for our BMC workers and other caretakers,” he had tweeted.