There’s an interesting lockdown story in every celebrity house. And we’re not talking about who’s cooking what or who’s gymming to keep the biceps bulging. “Please stop posting those videos,” admonished Farah Khan, quite annoyed with them. For the same reason, the usually voluble Farah has put a clamp on interviews — she doesn’t want to join the privileged brigade that’s been talking about how it’s been cooking and cleaning. How many videos does one want to see anyway of the rich and the famous soaking their hands in a sink full of dishes?

By the way, with three 12-year-old kids and a husband, Farah doesn’t have her fingers in the sink because she’s sorted — she runs a home that has only live-in staff, cooks and cleaners included.

But that’s not the only front where she’s been fortunate. Professionally, she’s not tense since her movie with Rohit Shetty (she’s directing it) is still on prep mode; she hadn’t begun filming when the lockdown was announced. Therefore, if the world had been normal and Covid-free, Farah would still have been prepping for her next film.

It’s a bigger worry for Rohit — his nearly Rs 150-crore film Sooryavanshi, which was the big release at March-end, now has a question mark on its estimated date of arrival in the theatres. He can’t possibly make a decision like Disney, who took the tough call of rescheduling, even re-positioning, their $125 million film Artemis Fowl. The story of a 12-year-old boy from a criminal family who goes in search of his missing father through different realms, and thus high on special effects, it had a theatrical release in place for May 29. But Disney had to bow down to Covid-19 and change the very platform through which the audience would get to see it. Instead of the theatres, Artemis Fowl will now be watched at home on Disney+, the OTT platform, in partnership with Hotstar. But, unlike the English film market, the penetration of such non-theatrical outlets is woefully abysmal in India. So currently, no big-budget Hindi filmmaker like Rohit can afford to consider anything other than a traditional release in the cinema halls.

Farah and family had a lucky escape on the personal front too. They were all set for a holiday in Finland when husband Shirish Kunder called it off in the nick of time. As early as in the third week of February, Shirish read the signs of the global crisis that was looming on the horizon and cancelled their tickets. “Yeah, we saved our money too,” chipped in Farah, who might otherwise have been stuck somewhere in Europe during this pandemic.

It worked out well for Sonu Nigam when the singer with the philosophical bent went from the Himalayas, where he meditates, to Dubai where 12-year-old son Nevaan studies. “Won’t be back for some time now,” he messaged, prepared to be in the UAE for as long as it takes. With son and wife

Madhurima by his side, Sonu’s sorted too. And busy on the hotline with the PMO in India putting together whatever inspirational shows/messages he can come up with to keep his countrymen chuffed up and safe in the coronavirus times.

Who found herself home alone was Tabu. Her sister Farha (not Farah Khan but the busy actress of the 80s) got lucky when their mom came to visit her and had to stay back during the lockdown.

Like the Kapoor sisters, Karisma and Kareena, Tabu and Farha are a study in contrast. When Farha was a popular heroine, she happily shot a smooch with Dara Singh’s son Vindoo, her husband-to-be, for the cover of my magazine. But her aunt, Shabana Azmi, had lividly told me, “Have you any idea how embarrassing it is for Farha’s mother when your magazine is hanging outside every stall in Hyderabad?”

There’s something about the name Farha (or Farah), however you may spell it, which makes them candid. But younger sis Tabu is like Karisma. You never know what she’s up to.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author