“It’s a really big shame,” Asif Kapadia on not being able to visit India for long due to pandemic

Travelling long distances is the last thing on people’s mind amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but there are thousands of people who are just waiting for the day when governments lift travel restrictions and they can meet their friends, families and well-wishers in far-off countries.

Having said that, the majority of the global population has come to terms with the fact that the world is never going to be the same again even if the novel coronavirus disappears from the face of the earth today. Academy Award-winning director-producer Asif Kapadia is also having a tough time accepting the grim reality.

“The whole situation is so complicated and confusing,” Kapadia tells an Indian daily, adding, “I have got friends in Brazil and the US, and they have had their issues. And the UK has had one of the worst experiences with the pandemic. Compared to the population, the UK had a really bad situation.”

The 49-year-old director recalls how people in India were confident of beating Covid-19 before a devastating second wave of the virus hit the country hard. “I remember talking to people in India, for a long time, with everyone saying, ‘Oh, it has not been so bad here’. Now, it has hit India hard. It is kind of rolling around the world at different speeds at different times,” he shares.

The filmmaker’s heart aches at the sight of so much suffering of people in his homeland, and his inability to visit his country in these trying times just makes the matter worse. “It is terrible. All I can do is just read about it; it is a very difficult time. We just hope that everyone is okay and that the country gets through this. I hope people understand that they do need to stay home, wear masks and be careful. There is not really an escape from this virus,” he says.

The BAFTA and Grammy-winning director-producer is eagerly waiting to visit the country but is not sure when this will be possible. “It is a really big shame. It has been a while since I have been there. But that’s the new thing. I don’t know how easy it is going to be for us to just fly around as we used to back in the day,” he signs off.

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