Producer-distributor and real estate magnate Anand Pandit is planning to start a vaccination centre in collaboration with a leading hospital of Bombay. During the pandemic-induced lockdown last year, he not only took care of the daily wagers working on his building and film projects but also provided medical kits to and funded medical check-ups for those who could not afford them. He also gave around 250 apartments to the BMC to accommodate over 1,000 patients. During the second wave too, he has been acutely aware of the employment struggles and financial travails of those who depend on the film industry and the real estate sector for sustenance. In order to help these workers with at least basic health care during the pandemic, he is hoping to start a vaccination centre in collaboration with a leading hospital. He will also sponsor a vaccination drive to help all the workers associated with Indian Film and Television Dierectors’ Association (IFTDA).
Pandit and his team are also trying to get clearances to import the vaccines directly so that more and more people can be vaccinated at the vaccination centre with minimum stress. Annad Pandit, who has co-produced The Big Bull which had an OTT premiere in April this year and whose Chehre is awaiting the reopening of cinemas for its premiere, was in the news recently for collaborating with Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgan to open COVID relief centres, complete with beds and oxygen support at Dadar and Juhu in Bombay. Says Pandit, “We should not just be talking about the crisis we are facing but also doing all we can to help. I plan to start private medical camps as well because the health infrastructure is so overstretched. Everything we do will impact how soon we can emerge from this challenging phase.”