The 8th, 9th and 10th floors at Juhu‘s Palazzo Building wear a deserted look. You will rarely see a light or someone in those balconies, these days. The news is that Rakesh Roshan has shifted from Mumbai to Lonavala, almost bag and baggage. The senior actor-filmmaker’s wife Pinkie and daughter Sunaina have also gone away with him.

A source says, “Roshan
saab aajkal sirf meetings ke liye Mumbai
aate hain. He stays in Lonavala- and you will see him in Mumbai only about 3 days every week, sometimes even 2.”

But why? Reveals the source, “It’s all because of COVID. The shootings are hardly happening. The meetings are few and far in between. While some industry folks might be putting up a brave front, the story by and large is that Bollywood is going through an extremely lean, torrid phase and despite all the optimism that some big releases are round the corner, the second COVID wave might have upset all calculations.” Just yesterday, ETimes broke the story that Eros International has decided to not release the Hindi version of the Rana Dagubatti-Pallavi Joshi-Shriya Pilgaonkar starrer ‘Haathi Mere Saathi’.

“Besides, Roshan sir has built a magnificent house there, which is like a mansion. So why would he risk being in Mumbai where you are invariably in direct or indirect contact with many people on daily basis? Besides he had a cancer health scare about a year ago, so it is imperative that he takes maximum care and that can only be achieved by staying away from the hustle-bustle. All said and done, he comes down twice or thrice a week to have his meetings which are important and rushes back as soon as they’re over. Things are going fine this way, why should he have second thoughts about his decision?” adds the source.

When contacted, Rakesh Roshan confirmed saying that he has taken most of his things that he needs to Lonavala and added, “I have planned to park myself here till the pandemic dust settles.”

On the work front, Roshan Sr is most likely to start ‘Krrish 4’ once the pandemic recedes. As for Hrithik, he continues to stay in Mumbai in his own Juhu apartment facing the sea; he does use the gym facility at Palazzo as and when he wants.”

In the Roshan family, Pinkie Roshan had tested positive in October 2020. ETimes had broken that story with a confirmation from Mrs Rakesh Roshan.