At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, I was concerned about how India was going to handle things, just because of population density in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. There was a steadiness to the cases in India for months – from what I understand, the lockdown was rather lopsided in some areas (much like here in America) – but I remember hearing about a month ago that the situation in India was not nearly as bad as the worst-case-scenario that many people predicted. Except that much like America, there’s been a huge spike in cases in the past month. Over the past week, India breached the 800,000-case mark, and every day they’re breaking records for new cases (just like America).
All of which leads me to this: arguably one of the most famous families in India has tested positive for the virus. Over the weekend, Amitabh Bachchan announced that he was positive. Bachchan is a famous Bollywood actor, think… Bollywood’s Jack Nicholson or Gene Hackman. He’s 77 years old and he created a sort of Bollywood dynasty, with his son Abhishek Bachchan also becoming a major Bollywood star. Abhishek is married to Aishwarya Rai and they’re like the Brangelina of Bollywood. And now all of them are corona-positive, even Aish and Abhishek’s daughter.
The Indian actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has tested positive for coronavirus, a day after her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, and her husband, Abhishek, also both actors, were admitted to hospital for Covid-19.
Rajesh Tope, the health minister for Maharastra state, tweeted that Rai Bachchan and her eight-year-old daughter had tested positive. However, it is unclear whether the actor has been admitted to hospital, as her husband and father-in-law were on Saturday, with what they said were mild symptoms.
Hospital officials and government health authorities said on Sunday that both men were in stable condition. Rai Bachchan, 46, has worked on several Bollywood and Hollywood films and is a brand ambassador for several multinational companies.
On Sunday, India registered a record increase in coronavirus cases, taking its total number to nearly 850,000 and forcing authorities to reimpose partial lockdown in some densely populated areas of the country.
This is awful. I’m looking through different Indian news and gossip sites to see what’s going on, and it looks like Aishwarya is quarantining at home with her daughter and the government put up “contamination” signs around her house so people know not to get near it. But Amitabh and Abhishek are both being hospitalized, which is rough news. I hope everyone gets better soon.
Photos courtesy of Instagram.
This is awful. I hope they all survive and thrive. Prayers.
It’s very interesting to me that the western media in general is more familiar with Aishwarya. I’m sure it’s because of her endorsements and exposure with the major brands and at Cannes.
However, Amitabh Bachchan is not “ also an actor”. He is a LEGEND in India and large parts of the world. He’s Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford and Robert De Niro all rolled into one. More than a billion people are praying for this family’s recovery in large parts due to Mr Bachchan’s immeasurable reach to audiences around the world.
@Paramita, yeah I found that interesting too. Amitabh Bachchan basically has God status in India and wherever Bollywood films are consumed. His son is a very famous actor too. Aishwarya is of course huge in Bollywood as well as internationally.
What always struck me is there are shrines dedicated to praying for and to Amitabh, it’s quite amazing.
I know this will totally show how old I am but every time i see his name I hear “Kabhi Kabhi …”
My dad was obsessed with that movie 🙂
Love that song!
I’d love to watch more Bollywood movies, but I have no idea where to start. I know a lot of the actors, an I’ve seen a lot of the big historical epics like Jodhaa Akbar, Padmaavat and Bajirao Mastani, but I haven’t seen a lot of Indian films set in the modern era. Suggestions welcome!
I would recommend Andhadhun (2018) and Trapped (2017). The first is about a blind pianist who “witnesses” a murder and the other is about a timid call center worker who gets trapped in a high rise while apartment hunting. They’re both really quick, engrossing thrillers that are totally clean and manage to be really entertaining.
Piku, Queen, English Vinglish, Dangal are all good films. If you’re into singing and dancing, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani is a fun watch.
Thanks JT and Carey! They all look great. I’ll add them to my list!
Prayers to all in need near and far.
How terrifying to have so many immediate family ill at once.
It’s scary. Hopefully they will all make it through this ok. There was a 99-year-old who survived covid, so there’s hope. But I don’t remember anything about her medical history before that being mentioned.
I think they all live together, i rememberan interview with Rai and she said its perfectly normal for even an adult to still live with their parents in India. So understandable how they all caught it so closely.
My mom watches news from India on a daily basis. It is being reported the father and son were on a movie shoot and likely caught the virus there and then brought it home. I can’t believe they are already shooting movies in India when cases there are so high. I can bet the numbers are much higher there than being reported because many aren’t getting tested. India is a very highly populated country, I have been there many times. There is a lot of superstition regarding Covid-19 there as well. There was even some nutcase telling people to drink cow urine as a cure and many people fell for it !
This is terrible if it’s true they were on a movie shoot. People need to get with the program and realize we CANNOT have “normal life” back until there’s a vaccine. We can keep on trying, but people are going to keep catching the virus and dying until we have better treatment and a vaccine in place.
I wish this family a full recovery. So sad.
Oh no! I hope the recover quickly and smoothly. I am always so stunned at just how Beautiful and Stunning she is. Honestly, it’s ridiculous.
I know, she is beyond gorgeous.
I hope they all recover quickly and don’t have lingering effects.
I came here to say the same. Every time I see a picture of her, her beauty stuns me. I can’t even imagine what it must be like seeing her in person.
Wishing them all good health and a speedy recovery
Prayers to all of them obviously but I genuinely worry about Amitabh. His immune system is basically non-existent due to past illnesses.
Hope they will be ok. Obviously they have access to the best medical care.
I also think india’s numbers are way underreported because they aren’t testing enough. It’s a huge country and very densely populated. Also social distancing is pretty much antithetical to indian culture so I imagine compliance is not great. It’a definitely concerning. In that sense, maybe this very public case will help get people to take it seriously.
I can’t believe how big their daughter is! In my head she’s still like a toddler.
I was in India just before the lockdown and I’m haunted by the thought of families packed into one or two rooms and the crowded streets. It’s literally impossible to social distance and for many there’s not enough money for soap, hand sanitizer or masks.
I wish we in NA could wear gorgeous sparkly pretty clothes like Indian men and women get to, and still look elegant as opposed to Barbie-doll.
I know, it makes the Western uniform of jeans and a dark-colored hoodie look so depressing.
I do think it’s possible to incorporate some Eastern elements into Western dress, though. There are so great Indian clothing designers that do this.
I know, the clothing is beautiful! I love the rich colors and attention to detail. Years ago I made a scarf from recycled sari silk yarn – it was difficult to work with but the colors are so gorgeous!
I have a friend who just got back from India after being separated from her children, husband and mother here in the US since she went home to India for a visit in February. I’m so thankful she’s back and seems healthy so far. I hope and pray the Bachchan family recover fully and soon.
From my experience with my friend, she loves sharing the Indianbclothing and food and culture with me and my daughter. My daughter has been invited to many traditional celebrations and been dressed up in the appropriate dress for the occasions. My friend says she wants to dress me up someday soon.
So if you take an appropriate interest in the culture you may be able to find someone who can help you put together a nice outfit to wear in the home. They probably would even be happy to see you in public in it, but until we as a society figure out what is and isn’t inappropriate cultural appropriation, at home wear is where it’s at, with cultures that welcome the sharing.
In the late 70’s I was dressing white friends and black friends in casual ethnic lounge wear from my grandmom’s island back when I was still able to get there to shop. Some of the more formal attire is a bit of a no go sharing outside of my grandmother’s culture, usually because they are associated with cultural customs that aren’t easy to get right unless you’re raised up in them. But it’s a point of pride to share the more casual elements.
But it is confusing now. As a mixed race person, sadly even I can’t have access to everything in my heritage. My daughter is devastated to know in the current climate she would be considered by her white and her ethnic sides as culturally appropriating if she were to wear in public some items shes inherited. Her (white) middle school teacher gave her an earful about culturally appropriating her own culture that last year. She knows my daughter’s heritage but said ny daughter wasn’t being raised up in the culture so she was therefore appropriating it. I honestly don’t know what to make of that. I was angry but my daughter asked me to keep out of it as she had already spoken her side of it.
Please by all means let your daughter wear those things and tell people off. It is NOT inappropriate. I am mixed race and my kids and nieces and nephews are 25% African and wear clothes from West-Africa. Actually the ones that pass for white do so more often than the others and do it with pride. We wouldn’t tell them not to because they all have the same background to be proud of, not just what they look like to other people. My nephew has a mixed race best friend who brings batik shirts back when he comes back from visiting his grandparents in Africa and all his friends, many of them Germans, ask to swap shirts with him and wear them. Yes there is such a thing as cultural appropriation but this is not pretending to have invented cornrows or doing black face. This is about sharing culture, too. Sometimes it‘s 15 yr olds changing our world to a better one.