Dubai: Indian superstar Mohanlal made surprise calls to UAE nurses on Monday to thank them for their service and to mark Tuesday’s International Day of Nursing.
Many of the nurses were taken aback when they heard the star’s voice on the other end of the phone.
Anumol Joseph, a nurse at Dubai’s Medeor Hospital, said she couldn’t believe her ears.
“Usually, I don’t take calls from unknown numbers during duty time, particularly nowadays, as we have to remove our face shields to attend calls,” she said. “But I would have regretted it for my entire life if I had missed the call. I will cherish this for the rest of my life,” she said.
Over a dozen nurses were surprised in total at Burjeel, Medeor, LLH and LifeCare Hospitals in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain, when they received the calls direct to their mobiles.
Princy George, a nurse at VPS Healthcare’s Burjeel Hospital in Abu Dhabi, said, “I was in group meeting when I got the call. I couldn’t believe it was Mohanlal. I was bit shocked but he cheered me up,” she said adding that the actor was kind enough to speak to her friends in the department.
“All of us are really happy. This is the best gift I would ever get in my life on nurses’ day. Usually, we get gifts, chocolates, and flowers at the hospital. But this one was truly special,” she added.
Maneesh Babu, Nursing Supervisor at Burjeel Medical City, told Mohanlal, “I am so happy that you have called us. Thank you for your nice words and wishes sir.”
Speaking about his surprise call to nurses, Mohanlal said that nurses and doctors are the real superheroes who are on the front lines of the battle against the deadly pandemic.
“It is our responsibility that we thank them for their commitment and sacrifices. We all should be grateful to them and pray for their good health,” he said, adding that the UAE is like a second home for him and he has a long relationship of over four decades with the nation.
He also inquired about the conditions of the nurses and asked them to stay safe.
Mohanlal, who said he is now in Chennai, urged the nurses to stay strong and asked them not to worry about the conditions in Kerala as the state is doing better.
He praised the nurses for their efforts and talked to them for over forty minutes. The actor had undergone surgery for a hand injury at VPS Healthcare’s Burjeel Hospital for Advanced Surgery, Dubai, last December.
The surprise call by actor Mohanlal was arranged by VPS Healthcare as a special gift to the front line warriors ahead of International Nurses Day. The nurses were informed in advance that some of them would be getting an important call but none of them knew it would be the actor.
