Actor-producer Shah Rukh Khan has offered his personal office space to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for quarantining children, women, and elders in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The four-storey building has also been equipped with the required facilities and services for the quarantined individuals.
The BMC has expressed its gratitude to Shah Rukh and his wife Gauri for their generosity.
We thank @iamsrk & @gaurikhan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our Quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women & elderly.
A D V E R T I S E M E N TIndeed a thoughtful & timely gesture!#AnythingForMumbai#NaToCorona https://t.co/4p9el14CvF
— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) April 4, 2020
A few days ago, a statement from his production house Red Chillies Entertainment was released. The statement said that Shah Rukh Khan’s group of companies, Red Chillies Entertainment, Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies VFX, and Meer Foundation had decided to announce several initiatives to support the government and fight against the global threat.
Further, it said that the actor along with his team was looking out for modest ways to help solve the problem. Khan had also appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and leaders of other states and union territories. SRK said that he, along with his team, would be focussing on three cities — Mumbai, Kolkata, and New Delhi to start off and will extend help in any possible way.
He emphasised on how humanity was the need of the hour and that supporting each other could help the entire nation cross this difficult phase. The actor said that it was the duty of the nation to give its best and that he would be doing so too. He also added that the compassion shown towards the section of society that would bear the brunt of both the pandemic and its economic repercussions defines the people and India as a nation.
“The scourge we are up against is fearsome and unknown to us. Like all uncharted paths, our journey to overcome every new challenge it throws at us will be arduous. There will be times when the best intentions might yield the wrong results. There may also be times when we accidentally stumble upon important solutions. All we can really do is try our utmost to adapt and confront each challenge with courage,” said the actor.
Whilst we stay safe at home,many r working for our safety & fending for themselves. Here’s our little contribution to ensure their health & well being! Separate but together,we will overcome! @iamsrk @PMOIndia @narendramodi @OfficeofUT @AUThackeray @MamataOfficial @ArvindKejriwal pic.twitter.com/7MI2KT7770
— Red Chillies Entertainment (@RedChilliesEnt) April 2, 2020
The statement also said that the aim of the initiative was not only to provide relief to the people but to also create awareness of the virus and encourage more people to help. The initiatives included:
- Contribution to the ‘PM – Cares Fund’ by the actor’s Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
- Contribution to the ‘Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund’ by the actor and wife’s Red Chillies Entertainment.
- KKR and Meer Foundation will associate with the governments of West Bengal and Maharashtra and contribute 50,000 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits to the frontliners – doctors and healthcare workers. They will also work to raise awareness to encourage other contributions.
- Meer Foundation along with Ek Saath: The Earth foundation, will provide daily food requirements to over 5,500 families for at least a month in Mumbai. A kitchen will also be set up to provide 2,000 freshly cooked meals every day to help households and hospitals whose daily needs aren’t being met.
- Meer Foundation will also associate with Roti Foundation, founded by former Maharashtra DGP D Sivanandhan, to provide 3 lakh meal kits to 10,000 people per day for at least a month. Roti Foundation has also already tied up with Mumbai Police and is providing meals to underprivileged people and daily wage workers.
- Meer Foundation in association with Working People’s Charter will provide basic essentials and grocery items for at least a month to over 2,500 daily wage workers who have been identified across Delhi.
- Meer Foundation will provide a monthly stipend to over 100 acid attack survivors across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttarakhand for their basic needs.
In response to the statement, Uddhav Thackeray, Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, and the various foundations put out tweets thanking the actor for his support.
Thank you @iamsrk, your contribution will help assist a lot of distressed people during these challenging times. Such humane benefaction will keep inspiring millions in this country who look up to you as their role model with respect and reverence. https://t.co/pj5bg77XUl
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) April 4, 2020
Thank you Shah Rukh ji for you kind words. Your generous contribution will touch many lives in this difficult hour. @iamsrk https://t.co/boaozsUXw8
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 3, 2020
Thank you @iamsrk ji @gaurikhan ji🙏🏼 https://t.co/aX80TDoWQV
— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) April 2, 2020
Thank you @iamsrk @RedChilliesEnt @MeerFoundation for your support in feeding people during COVID-19. https://t.co/mQZb4HZGhA
— Mumbai Roti Bank (@rotibankFdn) April 2, 2020
We at Ek Saath are extremely grateful to @imsrk & @Meerfoundation for their immense generosity and support.
We will fulfill an urgent need to provide 5500 families of daily wage workers with enough ration to sustain for a month in these difficult times. pic.twitter.com/Geyhivowkt
— Ek Saath Foundation (@ek7foundation) April 3, 2020
Apart from this, Shah Rukh has also been creating awareness about the virus and ways to tackle the situation on his social media handles. He had recently posted a light-hearted video comprising visuals from his films to explain the dos and dont’s at this time.
InshaAllah #JantaCurfew will help against the spread of virus, though we may have to do this again. The clapping brought so much cheer. So a reminder of safeguards, with some cheer… Pls take it in the right spirit. To all relentlessly working today – Extremely Grateful. Thx! pic.twitter.com/2wfaXPlFVF
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) March 22, 2020
Several other stars like Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan, Shilpa Shetty, Alia Bhatt, Kartik Aaryan, Nana Patekar, Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar, Ayushmann Khurrana and others have also contributed to Covid related funds.
Watch the awareness video by Shah Rukh Khan here:
