Exclusive! Filmmaker Rumy Jafry on taking care of his COVID positive wife and son

A few weeks ago he was busy promoting his upcoming directorial, the release of which went for a toss due to the pandemic. Now at home,

Rumy Jafry

who’s written screenplays for films like Coolie No. 1 (1995, 2020),

Saajan Chale Sasural

(1996), Gharwali Baharwali (1998), Biwi No. 1 (1999), Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (2005) and directed films like God Tussi Great Ho (2008), Gali Gali Chor Hai (2012) is busy nursing his wife, his 19-year-old son and

house

help who have all been tested

COVID

positive and are under home quarantine in the same apartment.

“I am roaming in a

PPE

suit at home. Teen-teen patients ki seva jo karni hai. My friends suggested that I get my house help admitted to the

BMC

COVID centre, but I thought itne saal usne meri seva ki hai, ab meri baari hai to take care of him. So, all three patients have locked themselves in separate rooms at home,” says Rumy, who has been doing a lot of house chores at home. “After a long time main apni chai khood banake pee raha hoon. Every day I also leave chai and meals outside the doors of my patients. Sometimes I cook at home. We also have a tiffin being delivered at home that has lovely home cooked food. My house help is feeling guilty that I am doing so much seva, but come on this is the time.”

While Rumy is being of great help to his family, he says that his wife gives him instructions from behind the closed doors. “I don’t understand medicine prescriptions. So it is my wife who makes doses not only for herself but our son and the house help. She packs the pills in sachets and leaves it outside the door. I sanitize the sachets and after two hours hand them over to the respective patients,” says the filmmaker.

Though he misses the presence of his wife Rumy says that this phase in fact has helped them to rekindle their relationship. “Me and my wife talk over video calls despite staying in the same house (laughs). The other day in the morning when I called her from my room, she refused to come on the video saying, ‘I just woke up, let me get ready and then I will come on the video call.’ I told her as if I have never seen her in the out-of-the-bed look (laughs!). So you see, one good thing about us Indians is that in any given scenario we can smile. And that is how we survive at any given odds,” he says.