Hit by COVID-19 lockdown, small-time actor Solanki Diwakar returns to selling fruits to earn a living

By Gaurav Arora
New Delhi [India], May 17 (ANI): Solanki Diwakar, who has acted in Bollywood films like 'Titli' and 'Dream Girl' can be often seen selling fruits on the streets of the national capital.
Diwakar, like countless others other struggling to eke out a living during the coronavirus imposed lockdown restrictions, has fallen back on his job as a fruit vendor to earn money and manage a living.
The over 35-year-old actor and a father of two, says no work is big or small.
"With the lockdown being extended I have to take care of my needs. I have to pay my rent and also need money to meet the expenses of my family. So I have turned back to selling fruits," Diwakar told ANI.
The actor says he was looking forward to playing a small role with late actor Rishi Kapoor in an upcoming movie, which got canned as the novel coronavirus pandemic struck.
"Because of the coronavirus and lockdown it was postponed and now he is is no more. I very much regret not being able to work with Rishi Kapoor ji. If the lockdown and Corona had not happened, I would have been in Mumbai doing some small roles in movies," says Diwakar.
The actor, who hails from Agra and has been living in Delhi for some 25-odd years, wakes up in the early hours to travel to the Okhla Mandi, one of the largest wholesale fruit and vegetable markets in the national capital, to pick up seasonal fruits that he hauls back to sell.
The actor has to negotiate numerous challenges ranging from negotiating long queues at the mandi, steering clear of policemen who might rain blows on him for violating COVID-imposed lockdown restrictions and battling risk of contracting the deadly virus.
But he doesn't stop, after all, if it isn't the virus, he says hunger might finish them.
Despite the circumstances, Diwakar remains optimistic and is hopeful that things will soon lookup.
After landing small roles in films like "Sonchiriya" and "Dream Girl", Diwakar says he cannot wait to face the camera again once normalcy returns. Till then, he says he is happy for what he has and celebrates the little victories of life. (ANI)