Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been lately worried sick. His extended family is caught in the devastating deluge of Uttarakhand, and the Bollywood actor has been struggling hard to stay connected with them.
"I have three brothers and a sister in Dehradun. It's hard get in touch. But so far they are safe. This kind of natural fury and devastation are unknown in our parts," says Nawaz who spent all his growing up years in Uttarakhand.
The Uttarakhand capital Dehradun is some 340 km from the national capital Delhi.
"My family being there is one thing. So many locals, pilgrims, tourists and travellers being stranded is very disturbing," says the actor who is deeply pained by the devastation, destruction and deaths caused by nature's fury, and thinking of ways to help the people of the state.
"There wasn't even a cinema hall where I grew up. Our entire family lived in a state of uncomplicated simplicity. Although we were a poor family, the place holds wonderful memories for me. It pains me to hear and see so much havoc being created by nature in my beautiful homeland. I think we're paying for our sins of economical devastation," says Nawaz.
The actor is currently trying to finish the dubbing for Buddhadeb Dasgupta's "Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa".
Nearly 600 people have been killed, while thousands remain stranded in Uttarakhand. The state saw over 60 hours of continuous and heavy rains coupled with few incidents of cloudbursts at various locations June 14-17, which led to the flooding in Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers and triggered landslides at many places.