Pearl V Puri to Helly Shah; TV celebs hit the road to be with their family during lockdown

Though flights have resumed, many are choosing the highway to travel back to their hometowns and be with their families. While some celebs flew back soon after flights resumed operations, a few of them chose to hit the road to travel back home to their families. Take a look:

The Naagin actor took a road trip from Mumbai to Agra to be with his family. With flights not available as a quick option to travel, the actor chose to drive down to his hometown as he felt it is the safest way to commute during the pandemic. Pearl, who keeps traveling every 2-3 months to meet his family, spoke about one of the major reasons for this travel to BT, "Since the lockdown, my mother has been worried about my health. And after Sushant Singh Rajput's death and so much happening, she would often end up crying while talking on the phone. That was one of the major reasons why I decided to undertake the journey.”

This tellytown couple drove down to Rubina’s hometown in the hills. Abhinav also gave a glimpse of preparing tea for his parents while on the road. Rubina is currently giving glimpses of her hill-life from picking up plums to trying out Gucchi mushrooms.

Soon after lockdown was announced in March, the Ishqbaaz actress was home-quarantined in Mumbai. But on May 6, the actress drove down to Vadodara along with two of her friends. She got permission to travel by road from the authorities of both the states (Gujarat and Maharashtra). The actress shared her road journey to BT saying, “My friend and I took turns to drive my car. We had stuck the printout of the permission letter on the car’s windshield. We wanted to start from Mumbai early in the morning but soon, we realised that there were punctures in two tyres. We got it repaired and reached Vadodara in the afternoon. It was almost after 50 days that I was travelling on the roads, and everything felt so different! There was no traffic, and it was a journey like none other. The cops were very cooperative at all the checkpoints.”

Swaragini actress Helly Shah had also applied for all necessary permits to travel by road from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and on May 26, she managed to be with her family in Ahmedabad. Speaking about her journey, she told BT, “Ever since the lockdown started, my mom kept telling me, 'Tu Amdavad aavi jaa' (you come back to Ahmedabad) but at that point, I could not manage to do it. Finally, I got the permission to drive down from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. I avoided air travel as I thought travelling by road would be a better option for me. My driver was with me and we had a smooth ride. It was a memorable journey.”

Saath Nibhana Saathiya actor Karan Khandelwal drove 1400km to be back home in Kozhikode from Mumbai, and catching up with family and friends. He had not been home in three years, but seeing the Covid-19 situation in Mumbai, and work and finances getting affected, Karan took the decision of driving back to his hometown. To avoid contact with anyone, Karan carried water and some snacks, and only stopped twice to refuel. At the Kerala border, Karan was tested for Covid-19 and his car was sanitised before he could cross the border. When he got home, he got into self-quarantine for a few days.

Yeh Jaadu Hai Jinn Ka actor Worship Khanna also travelled by road to his hometown in Moradabad. However, the actor booked a cab and it turned out to quite a costly ride. The actor shared, “I was travelling with my Diva (his pet dog) and I am also planning to return by road.” His one-way travel cost him Rs 34K from Mumbai to Moradabad.