I was scared when I tested positive: Darshana Banik

In the first week of March, Darshana Banik went to Bangladesh to shoot for her film Antaratma with Shakib Khan. When she returned to her hometown Kolkata in April, she started experiencing mild symptoms of COVID-19.

“I was weak, got fever, lost the senses of taste and smell for a few days. I tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus,” Darshana shares. “I was so scared,” she admits. “I thought I wouldn’t survive because people who were infected were doing well in the initial days but later had a lot of trouble.”

But then, she adopted a different approach. “I started motivating myself, and watched music videos, prank videos, and started feeling better. It boosted my confidence and I started recovering quickly,” she recalls.

The Aatagallu actress shares that after she got the infection, she started becoming more empathetic and thankful. She realised that nothing can be taken for granted. “Earlier, I used to take things very casually, but now I am very cautious. There’s a need to get vaccinated. We cannot afford yet another lockdown or a third wave,” she points out.

After recovery, Darshana says she became a bit lethargic, and put on weight, but her friends motivated her to keep busy. She started learning Kathak online. “I have always been keen to learn Kathak and I am glad that I am using this lockdown time to ace it. Moreover, the dance form complements my acting,” she says, adding that COVID-19 has also revived her interest in reading books.

She feels the pandemic has got people to slow down, and taught us the significance of life itself. Meanwhile, the actress has almost wrapped up the shooting of her film Black, starring Aadi Saikumar, and directed by G.B. Krishna.