TN director serves food to needy amid COVID-19 lockdown

Director Mahendra Verma has taken the initiative to provide at least one square of meal to assistant directors, technicians, other daily earners who have been suffering the wrath of COVID-19 lockdown.

Chennai: As India goes through the world's biggest lockdown, a director from Tamil Nadu is ensuring food to many helpless assistant directors across the state who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Director Mahendra Verma has taken the initiative to provide at least one square of meal to assistant directors, technicians, other daily earners who have been suffering the wrath of COVID-19 lockdown.

Reportedly, a native of Saligramam in Chennai, Verma along with his wife and five other assistant directors prepare 200 parcels at home to feed economically weaker people of his industry.

"I myself have been into that phase of career struggle when you don't even get to eat at times. I can understand how difficult it must be for assistant directors, technicians and other poor people working in film industry to lose a job. Most of them have not been getting food because of the nationwide lockdown so I decided to help them with whatever little I could," Mahendra Verma added.

He further said that the process of cooking ends by 11 in the morning after which the food is packed and then he advances on his two-wheeler to deliver the food.

According to Verma, directors like M Kalanjiyam, Samudrakani, Prabhu Solomon, RK Selvamani, Perarasu, Vijayamaran, Adi Rudra have been immensely contributing and assisting him financially so that poor, needy workers of film industry get food everyday. Further, Mahendra Verma says he believes in philosophy of “I wither away whenever I find a withering crop."

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu on Thursday crossed over 1242 COVID-19 cases with 14 fatalities reported so far.