Himani Shivpuri rues the absence of any provident fund for actors

By: Mohnish Singh

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit India, the lives of thousands of people working in the Indian film industry have been in shambles. They were just trying to deal with various difficulties that the first wave of the pandemic put them through, but the second wave has thrown them into deeper adversities and misfortunes.

While several well-established actors and filmmakers have once again come forward to help the daily wage workers, no such help has been offered for old actors who depend on daily work to earn their livelihood.

Veteran actress Himani Shivpuri points out that they do not have any income to make both ends meet at the time of such an unprecedented crisis. “It is very tough. We actors, especially the older ones, earn only when we work. But now, with work not happening, it is a struggle. We have nothing to fall back on. They call this an industry but it has not given the status of the film industry nor does it function like one. Our income now is zero as there is no work, but it is our fault,” she tells a publication.

Talking about the various difficulties senior actors have faced over the past year, the actress says, “Income has been very sporadic for people in our industry for the past one year now. It is really a bad scenario. Yes, we actors are probably not in a situation as bad as many others but struggle is struggle.”

Shivpuri stresses the urgent need to modify the financial structure of actors to enable them to deal with such crisis. “We do not have provident fund; we do not have any care fund or something that we can draw money from during these difficult situations. We do not have a pension. What do we do?”

Himani Shivpuri, who has been part of several Hindi blockbusters, can be currently seen on the popular comedy show Happu Ki Ultan Paltan, which airs on &TV.