Akshay Kumar to provide financial aid Mumbai’s iconic Gaiety-Galaxy theatre amid lockdown: report
Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has been actively providing help to those affected by the coronavirus lockdown. The actor had donated Rs 25 crore to PM Modi's CARES Fund after he urged everyone to contribute to help the daily wage workers. later, Akshay also extended a helping hand to BMC by donating Rs 3 crore for PPE kits and other useful equipment. Now, according to the latest reports, the actor will be providing financial aid to Mumbai cinema hall Gaiety-Galaxy owner to pay his staff.
According to a Mid-Day report, Akshay has asked to help the Mumbai's cinema hall owner to pay his employees amid the coronavirus lockdown. Manoj Desai, the owner of Gaiety-Galaxy cinema, told the portal, "Three days ago, I got a call from Akshayji. He offered to provide financial assistance if the scenario continues. It was kind of him to offer help, but we should find a way to sustain ourselves. We have managed to collect enough funds to pay the salaries for this month, but the theatre shutdown will have long-term ramifications. Our focus is to ensure we don’t trim staff or resort to pay cuts."
Due to the lockdown, the cinema theatre owner has incurred a huge loss. The report states that Manoj and business partner Arun Nair had earlier decided to increase the ticket prices as soon as the cinemas re-opened. However, after the lockdown extension, recovering from a 45-day period, is going to be tough. "I will head to Gaiety and Maratha Mandir today to finalize our plan of action for May. We are reworking our plans to ensure that we don’t have to seek support from the industry folk."
Earlier, Akshay Kumar tweeted, “This is that time when all that matters is the lives of our people. And we need to do anything and everything it takes. I pledge to contribute Rs 25 crores from my savings to @narendramodi ji’s PM-CARES Fund. Let’s save lives, Jaan hai toh jahaan hai". PM Narendra Modi also praised the actor for his contribution and took to Twitter to appreciate it. He tweeted 'Great gesture'.
On the work front, Akshay Kumar was busy shooting for his next film Bachchan Pandey before the outbreak of coronavirus forced the industry to stop work. The actor an interesting line-up of films in the future like Rohit Shetty's Sooryavanshi, Bachchan Pandey, Laxmmi Bomb and Bell Bottom.
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