COVID-19 lockdown: Rishi Kapoor urges authorities to let licensed liquor stores operate

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, on Saturday, urged the governments of various states to allow ‘licensed liquor stores’ to operate for a while in the evenings amid the lockdown to combat the coronavirus pandemic. He said that this might give those involved in essential services a ‘release’ while saving people from ‘frustration’ and ‘depression’.

Rishi’s tweet comes at a time when the coronavirus outbreak has brought things to a standstill. All malls, movie theatres and commercial establishments have been asked to remain shut for at least 21 days to avoid mass gatherings and indirectly bring the situation under control.

Several major production houses have pushed back the release dates of major movies keeping in mind the “health of the public”. F9, Haathi Mere Saathi, A Quiet Place 2, Ranveer Singh’s 83 and No Time to Die are just a few biggies that will not be hitting screens as planned. Similarly, the shoots of films like Jersey, Radhe and the Chiranjeevi starrer Acharya have been suspended till further notice.

This, however, has not stopped stars from reaching out to fans. ‘Mahanaayak’ Amitabh Bachchan recently requested the common man to take social distancing seriously. Similarly, Chiranjeevi urged people to look after the aged as these are testing times for them. Jr NTR and Ram Charan joined hands for a special video to create awareness about the coronavirus threat. Shah Rukh Khan too did his bit by highlighting the need to follow the basics to stay safe.

Coming back to Rishi, he was last seen in The Body, a remake of a Spanish thriller of the same name. The film, directed by Jeethu Joseph, did not live up to expectations. The movie had a strong cast that included Emraan Hashmi and Sobhita Dullipala of Made in Heaven fame. ‘Chintuji’ will soon be teaming up with Deepika Padukone for the Hindi adaptation of The Intern.