Last 14 days felt like it was 14 years of vanvas: Gurmeet Choudhary

The actor, along with his wife Debina Bonnerjee recently recovered from Covid-19. In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times, the couple opened up about their battle with the virus

It was on September 30 that actor couple Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee tested positive for Covid-19. The couple, along with Bonnerjee’s parents were all tested positive, and have now recovered from it after a span of two weeks. Choudhary, who took to social media to announce the news of the family being tested negative, says, “The last 14 days felt like it was 14 years of vanvas. It is actually tough. Debina and I had a lot of symptoms and we had thought that since we are so much into fitness and follow a strict diet, we would probably have no symptoms. The initial three to four days were difficult.”

Gurmeet Choudhary and wife Debina Bonnerjee tester positive for Covid-19 on September 30 (Photo: Mheer Jhaveri)

Bonnerjee, who says that she is “extremely happy” to have tested negative now, is thankful that though her parents tested positive at the same time, they were both asymptomatic. “As Gurmeet and I were extremely unwell initially, we decided to get my parents tested as well and they were tested positive but were both asymptomatic. Hence, they looked much fitter than Gurmeet and I, and that feeling helped us mentally,” she says.

Choudhary, 36, admits that it is important to be mentally stable during this period. “There are quite a few medicines that was given. And we used to sleep for about 17 to 18 hours a day and you need to rest and sleep while recovering. Besides, mentally you feel a lot of pressure. You get to see a lot of negative news about the pandemic everywhere. It actually affects you mentally. But we kept ourselves motivated that we need to recover.”

About experiencing a strange sense of confusion during the medication and the recovery, Bonnerjee says, “They say that there is a certain kind of brain fog that happens during coronavirus, and I showed all of those symptoms (laughs). I was talking and then the next day I would forget I said it. There is a certain level of confusion. When you are in the moment you don’t understand it, but when the confusion goes away in your brain, you realise that the action wasn’t normal.”

The couple are both thankful that they were “all together” during this difficult phase. Speaking about it, Choudhary says, “It was definitely a boon to be with your loved ones. I was recently shooting in Jaipur (Rajasthan) for a film, and I was praying that I should not get Covid there. If it would have happened, then I would have been all alone there without my family or friends. Family thi saath me toh survive karr liya.”

Ask them what do they have to say to people who are not following the SOPs during the pandemic, and Bonnerjee says, “In India, people don’t see and learn, they face it and then learn. Jabb takk saare population ko nahi hojata and 20% population nahi rahega, tabb takk log nahi seekhenge. I cannot say anything else. It is extremely serious and I don’t understand why people cannot get it.”