Kubbra Sait has been one of the most open-minded and outspoken actresses that we have in Bollywood today. She has been championing causes after causes and has time and again voiced her opinions on issues of national importance. She recently did a live session with Dolly Singh for a fundraiser for the plight of the state of Uttarakhand. Many celebs like Cyrus Sahukar, Nakuul Mehta, Aparshakti Khurana, Josè Covaco and Janice Sequeira also joined in for the live chat. In a candid chat, Kubbra opens about the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in the country, the government’s involvement in the vaccination drive and a lot more. Excerpts:
Tell us about this Uttarakhand fundraiser that you recently did? How much did you end up raising?
Honestly, I didn’t ask Dolly [Singh] how much money we ended up raising. What I think is more important is to celebrate the fact that everybody came together with open hearts and love. Money is not the greatest commodity today, time is — the amount of it we get to spend with the people we love and the time that we spend with people we don't even know. All these incredible people that came together to help Dolly in her initiative, goes on to show that there is goodness in the world. And when you celebrate goodness as a whole, the money becomes the least of the priorities. The fact that we all came together with open hearts, is something that we all can do and you do not need to be a celebrity to help people. I would like to lay emphasis on that.
In which aspects of public welfare would these funds be used for?
This was primarily for Uttarakhand. We all have been speaking so aggressively and ever so passionately about Covid, but we cannot forget that there are so many other places and so many other calamities out there that are happening around us that also need our attention.
What’s your take on the Covid vaccine?
I believe right now, the doctors are the only people you should be listening to. You've got institutes that have put in resources, efforts, and a relentless amount of time to develop these vaccines, and if you do have a chance to save yourself from the complications of Covid, and also gives you a certain sense of freedom when it comes to your mind, then you should totally go ahead and do what is best for you. I have done my first vaccine shot. So, if you have so many people leading by example then don't turn around and negate that as a whole. I am not trying to preach, but I'm saying I would like the world as an entity to feel safe and be safe. I would like to take a flight, travel and experience the new normal, whatever it is. If the vaccines are the way forward, then I believe you should listen to the doctors.
What do you think can be done to encourage people to take the vaccine, since many, especially the ones living in rural areas, are still apprehensive about it?
Our country is no stranger to vaccination. We had a whole country vaccinated for polio. I think we just have to go down to grassroots level and make sure that we have people who are drawn into this cause. We need to make them understand in their language so that we could do this together. We need to educate them and also understand at the same time that they do not have the urban facilities as we do. They do not have a 4G connection. They do not have access to computers. It is really important that people turn around and help them get vaccinated, instead of expecting them to do their job. The Co-Win app is not accessible to everyone. I think we just need to make those tweaks and changes so that everybody in the country can feel safe.
Do you think the central and the state governments have done enough to help people in this pandemic?
I think the recent speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pretty clear. They are going to go down to the rural parts of the country. They are going to procure and give 75% of the vaccines to all government hospitals for free. I think that is a great initiative. Instead of talking about what the government has not done, let us please focus on what can be done. I am not someone who just goes to Twitter and says something. I am actively a part of the change, a part of bringing awareness to the forefront. But, I do not have control over policies, so it would be pretty unfair and incorrect for me to say what the government needs to do. But I can definitely spread awareness about it. It is also important that we look at implementing this and not just keeping it at an 'idea' level. It needs to be executed and it needs to be done now. It needed to be done yesterday, but if you keep talking about that it's not going to work. We cannot wait for the third wave to destroy us as the second wave caught us when we went ahead of ourselves and let our guards down.
