Looking past 2020 into 2021

Richa Chaddha, Juhi Chawla, Hina Khan, Swara Bhasker and Aakanksha Singh share with us their learnings during the pandemic, their plans to see off the old year, and their hopes for the new one

Aakanksha Singh
During the pandemic, I spent five months with my family in Jaipur. I have realised that family is my priority. The pandemic situation also showed me the importance of small things we were taking for granted – eating out, going for a stroll, etc. We should be grateful when we’re able to enjoy them again.
I am happy 2020 is ending, it has been a stressful year for all of us. But in terms of my career, I got work throughout after the lockdown. I wish 2021 brings me good roles and more success.”

Swara Bhasker
The pandemic has taught me gratitude. We should be grateful and feel blessed for being able to be with our families and friends. I think we are all realising the value of work that we have. I missed being on sets for eight months, and I am happy to have the opportunity to get back.”

Juhi Chawla
This year has taught me so much, especially to make full use of this quiet time. Currently, I am doing Ayurveda detox. We should make full use of time God has given us. Work has suffered for everybody and I have also spent a lot of time at home. I realised there is no need for a lot of things that we have been doing. I am enjoying this simpler living.
I have known all along that health is wealth, but this situation has brought that home a little bit more. There’s this quote: ‘God says Yes and gives you what you want. When God says, No, he gives you something better… God says wait, and gives you the best.’ I think this has been a time of patience.
We have to slow down and look at ourselves. As film work has reduced, I have been working on other things – like education in our Gurukul, we have the time to sit down, discuss, rejuvenate, rethink, re-plan.

Richa Chaddha
I  realised you don’t need too much to survive in life; you can survive with very little. I have learned to do a lot of stuff on my own. I learned to cook delicious South-Indian, Bengali, Punjabi and Thai dishes.
I value peace of mind above everything else. I am very happy that the year is ending. It hasn’t been a good year for anybody. Not for the industry as well. I am hoping next year will be better. I’m also hoping cinema halls open as so many people are dependent on this industry. I really hope things get back to normal.

Hina Khan
The pandemic showed me that mankind takes everything for granted. It took a virus to bring our loved ones together. Earlier, we had no time for them. I realised that time spent with them is a form of giving. Why should we wait for tragedies to happen?
For me, 2020 has been a year of learning, and on the work front it was satisfactory, but I’m hoping we can do some good projects in 2021.