Daily Times

Just like last year, Bollywood actor Salman Khan has come forward to financially support 25,000 daily wage workers from the film industry as India battles the second wave.

The actor will be crediting Rs 1500 in the bank account of the industry workers who are suffering due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) general secretary, Ashoke Dubey told indiaexpress.com, “Salman Khan’s manager spoke to BN Tiwari (FWICE president) and asked us to send details of 25,000 workers from the federation. The star will be crediting Rs 1500 in each one’s bank account. He was helpful even last year when Covid first hit India, and he is back at it again.”

After last year’s nationwide lockdown, the badly hit film industry had started recovering in December. The daily wage workers also started getting work by February but the second wave of Covid-19 made things worse yet again.

Dubey added, “We did not see this situation coming as work had started off well from December. By February, many of our workers were getting jobs so all were happy. Then, the second wave hit and work opportunities closed down. We don’t even know when things will start again.”

Recently, Salman also distributed refreshments and meals to the frontline workers like medical and police personnel, BMC workers and cleaners in Mumbai. In a move to help the country, which is battling with the second wave of the virus, the actor also declared that a portion of the revenue generated by his upcoming film Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai will go towards Covid-19 relief work.

A spokesperson of Salman Khan Films said, “We are glad to be a part of this noble initiative, to contribute our bit towards the nation’s fight against Covid-19. Since the last year, we have been consistent in our efforts towards fighting Covid-19, since this unprecedented crisis struck our country and the world. Very importantly, we have also come to realise that holding up the release of a pre-shot film may not help us in any way but using its proceeds towards fighting the pandemic is a more suitable and pragmatic approach. Radhe’s release on ZEE5 and ZeePlex will empower us to contribute more in these extremely difficult times.”