MyVoice: Views of our readers 4th May 2020

Bollywood loses two legends

It has been a tragic week for the Hindi film industry. Bollywood has lost two of its gems, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor. Irrfan Khan died due to neuroendocrine syndrome. Khan was a magnificent actor who earned global fame and recognition through his films. He was undoubtedly one of the finest actors and one among the most successful exports to Hollywood. He lacked the looks of a traditional Bollywood romantic lead but made his name as character actor in Hindi cinema and Hollywood.

Life of Pie, Slumdog Millionaire, Warrior, Jurassic World and Maqbool are his notable films. Rishi Kapoor passed away in Mumbai after a prolonged battle with Leukaemia. He had been battling with cancer for two years. While Rishi Kapoor's memory is forever tied to his boyish charm to his early blockbusters, in his second innings, he shifted to character roles. He gave a glimpse of his immense talent and craftsman ship to character roles.

He came from the family of four generations of stars who were born to act. He lived joyful life till his death. He has a weakness for fine whisky and good food. His notable films are Amar Akbar Anthony, Khel Khel Mein, Naseeb, Mulk etc. The death of two great actors is a great loss to Indian cinema and the void cannot be filled. RIP.

Zakir Hussain, Kazipet

Onus of containing pandemic lies on public too

The most important question we need to ask ourselves is, "Have we seen the worst or is it yet to come?" Right from the beginning, when the Janata Curfew was announced on March 22 which was followed by the lockdown, the people always awaited to see a drop in the number of cases and flattening of the curve. This never really happened as the number of cases kept on rising steadily.

We have progressively moved from lockdown 1.0 to 2.0 and now as we enter 3.0, we wonder how has the lockdown really helped us? Though it is a well-known fact that economy of our country has been hit the hardest, with salary and job cuts awaiting us in near future, the positive aspect of this lockdown has been the time we have got in our hands to improve healthcare infrastructure and spread awareness to the common man.

As we are slowly expecting things to come back to normal with easing of restrictions, we can definitely expect the number of cases and deaths to further rise in the coming days, as the effect of the hot summer which people expected to go in our favour has not really stopped the spread of the virus. Though it is a fact that lockdown cannot be extended indefinitely which is already creating a havoc on the economy, the onus now in this third extension of the lockdown clearly lies more on the people and not on the government alone. A permanent change in mindset is the need of the hour.

Dr Rithvik Golla, Secunderabad

Is lifting of lockdown the right decision?

The fact that lockdown has been effective in containing the spread of virus is not easily understood by those who are not directly affected by the contagion. However, their businesses, jobs, and freedoms are definitely suffering due to the coronavirus lockdown. In some countries like Germany - hugely affected by Covid-19 but where massive containment efforts brought down the scale - hospitals are now only half-filled but shops, offices and businesses were shut before easing of restrictions began. People were questioning the government for implementing the lockdown.

However, given that the novel coronavirus is still in transmission, lifting of lockdown will be like unleashing a deadly killer to run amok the unsuspecting herd. This will help achieve herd immunity, which health expert say, is the ultimate protection against the novel coronavirus in times to come. But the experts also advocate wait for a vaccine and recommend containing the virus through measures such as lockdown, contact-tracing, targeted testing and isolated treatment of each Covid-19 patient. They say allowing people to go about their businesses and daily life like in the pre-coronavirus times will advance the oncoming of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.

Sumitha Goggala, Vijayawada, AP