Pakistani stars Humayun Saeed, Saba Qamar get quarantine game on

Actor-producer Humayun Saeed jokes about “a greater likelihood of me dying from overeating than anything; all I’m doing right now is eating and sleeping and watching Netflix and Amazon Prime shows.” That’s him on “day 3” (as he reveals) of self-quarantine in a hotel in Karachi where he checked into, straight from the airport, upon returning from the US last week.

Like a socially responsible citizen, he’s shut all face-to-face contact, staying away even from his folks and family for the entire fortnight. He admits that it’s “an unfamiliar situation to be in, but it’s also a time that has united everyone. Today, no one is thinking about profits, and no one is talking about human rights. Suddenly, it’s all about survival — of yourself and your loved ones, and the humanity at large.”

As the Pakistan government locks down most parts of the country in order to quell the spread of the deadly coronavirus, all showbiz activity has come to a near halt. Cinema houses have been closed for an indefinite period of time, public and private events including fashion weeks, movie premieres/launches, and restaurant openings have been cancelled. Film and TV shoots have been postponed because the actors and crews cannot possibly ‘work from home’ or manage ‘social distancing’ on the sets. Our stars have confined themselves in their homes. No one is travelling, and everyone is waiting anxiously for life to return to normal. Gulf News Tabloid takes a look at how the artist community is coping with quarantine — how do they keep themselves motivated and not sink into depression while trapped indoors.

Sheheryar Munawwar mentions “catching up on movies and books, and making some much-deserved family time.” The star of last year’s biggest blockbuster, ‘Parey Hut Love’, stresses on the importance of self-isolation “to be able to break the chain of the pandemic,” adding that everyone should regard this as their national duty.

Saba Qamar’s quarantine routine is largely about “doing yoga, praying, and eating lots of fruits to strengthen my immune system.” She also views it as a time to reconnect with herself.

It seems the stars are finding ways to enjoy little luxuries in lockdown. Meesha Shafi is considering pampering herself a bit. She recently shared a photo of some organic hair products she’s stocked, saying “Quarantine is the perfect time to start these. Just a fresh trim so looking forward to speedy growth.”

Director Nabeel Qureshi, on the other hand, wouldn’t stop working. He recently Instagrammed a photo of himself and the editor of his new film, Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad, both wearing facemasks at work. He captioned it wittily, “Baatein nahi, kaam corona (No talk, just work).”

One thing common to all the stars is that they are now staying in touch with their fans more than ever before. While Qamar was quick to do an #askSaba session on Twitter, emerging pop artist Danyal Zafar went live for two hours, while ‘Mom’ actor Adnan Siddiqui hasn’t stopped posting candid videos that show his funny side.

Nation’s newest heartthrob Bilal Abbas Khan decided to get a little playful: he uploaded a picture of his on Instagram and tempted his fans/followers to come up with an interesting caption. His bait was that the one which “gets the most amount of likes I’ll put it as my caption.”

Up-and-coming model and fitness trainer Zarrar Khan who “miss going to gym” has thought up a solution: he “turned my mom’s furniture into workout equipment.” He’s also starting virtual gym sessions soon.

And Osman Khalid Butt was clearly up to some prank when he announced on Sunday that he’d be going live on Instagram for those experiencing “the Corona blues”: “Self-isolation and social distancing making you feel for Jack Torrence*? […] let’s hang out. Ask me anything. I may only give supernatural answers. *(The Shining reference).”

Acclaimed singer Sajjad Ali’s tweet about starting a “Music Revolution” — “Ab online concerts honge!” (Now we’ll be seeing online concerts.) — has already gone viral. Next we saw an Ali Sethi streaming live music, and Ali Zafar playing a ‘Corona song’ on guitar for his fans, based on the hugely popular Lollywood oldie, ‘Ko ko korina’. It all served to lift the mood of the audiences.

Then there are those who have been trying to mobilise the masses to adopt stringent hygiene regimes and practise social distancing. Mahira Khan leads the pack of stars campaigning for the cause right from their homes. In a video message, the ‘Raees’ star spoke of the need to “Stay home. Stay healthy. Stay responsible.” She also warned against trusting “unverified Whatsapp videos and articles.”