In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing number of deaths, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi had announced that the country will be placed in lockdown for the next 21 days as the government is taking steps to halt the spread of the virus. While the entire country is taking precautionary measures, even FEFSI (Film Employees Federation of South India) on March 16, 2020, announced that the film industry would be shut down till March 31, 2020. This decision by FEFSI has left many daily wage workers of the film industries in the lurch. Well, Covid-19 has created not just a health emergency but also a financial crisis.

Watch the trailer for Vijay Sethupathi’s Sindhubaadh here:

Since all shootings have been put on hold and the workers’ survival has gone for a toss, FEFSI president RK Selvamani had appealed to the film fraternity to extend financial help for the ones who are in need. And South (Tamil) actors have come forward to help, playing the good samaritans for their countrymen and helping them fight the crisis. Superstar Rajinikanth has donated Rs. 50 lakhs which amounts to 25 percent of the total amount needed. It comes as no surprise that Vijay Sethupathi, who is fondly called Makkal Selvan, has also contributed a sum of Rs 10 lakh and so did actor Sivakarthikeyan.

Breaking : Actor @rajinikanth gave ₹50 lakhs for #FEFSI Workers who are facing shutdown due to Corona Virus our break. #corona #Coronaindia #fefsi

— Johnson PRO (@johnsoncinepro) March 24, 2020

Veteran actor Sivakumar and his sons Suriya and Karthi together have made a significant contribution of Rs 10 lakh for the relief fund. Prakash Raj has donated 150 bags of rice, each weighing 25 kilos. Even Parthipan and Mano Bala have provided 250 and 10 bags of rice weighing 25 kg each respectively.

Breaking : Actor @VijaySethuOffl gave ₹10 lakhs for #FEFSI Workers who are facing shutdown due to Corona Virus our break. #corona #Coronaindia #fefsi pic.twitter.com/6dzAiUrkLQ

— Johnson PRO (@johnsoncinepro) March 24, 2020

Besides this, music director Anirudh Ravichander has donated a sum of Rs 2 lakhs while Aishwarya Rajesh has donated Rs 1 lakh to the relief fund. Well, the donations, both monetary and otherwise, are sure to bring much-needed relief to those who are struggling to cope up with the crisis.

Music director @anirudhofficial donated ₹ 2 lakhs
to #FEFSI Workers due to#CoronaVirusLockdown#Aniruth#COVID19 pic.twitter.com/MsZITvCPfC

— Priya – PRO (@PRO_Priya) March 28, 2020

For the uninitiated, FEFSI has more than 20 unions. It is an organisation comprising over 25,000 film technicians including lightmen, makeup artists, choreographers, dancers, stunt persons, junior artists, and others.

If you are a movie buff, you will surely like this Vijay Sethupathi film Rekka currently streaming on ZEE5.