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Mumbai, Apr 19: It is important to stay united and have faith in each other to fight the coronavirus pandemic, veteran lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar said on Sunday, expressing concerns over the attack on healthcare workers and cases of communal tension in the country.

In a video shared by Akhtar's wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi on Twitter, the writer urged people to stand together in this time of crisis.

"The country is undergoing a crisis at this point of time. To fight this crisis called coronavirus, it is important for us to be united. If we will keep suspecting each other or won't understand each other's intentions, there will be no unity, then how will we fight it?

"You must salute these doctors who are endangering their lives to test you. Unless you get tested, you will not know whether you have the disease or not. You can be treated only after that. It's a matter of stupidity that, I've heard, people are pelting stones on those doctors. This should not be done," Akhtar said in the 2 minute-long clip.

The 75-year-old lyricist also said that targeting a particular community defeats the goal of unity.

"I also hear that shops of a particular community are being shut, 'thelas' are being overturned or people are hit so that they can flee. This is not how unity works. We will have to believe each other. We all are citizens of this country," he said.

Akhtar appealed to the Muslim community to offer prayers from home in the holy month of Ramzan, which will begin from April 24 or April 25.

"I request all the Muslim brothers that now that Ramzan is coming, please say your prayers but make sure that this doesn't cause problems to anyone else. The prayers that you do in the mosque, you can do that at home. According to you, the house, the ground, this all has been made by Him. Then you can do your prayers anywhere," he said.

"Ensure that your speech, slogans and deeds don't create any suspicion in the minds of others. And to all the other citizens of the country, I'd say please have faith in each other, practice unity, don't resort to hatred. Only with the help of love and trust, we will be able to fight with the coronavirus," he added.

New Delhi, Jun 2: Actor Anushka Sharma on Tuesday exhorted people to maintain hygiene and advised to stop open defecation in a bid to avoid coronavirus spread.

As the country is grappling with the coronavirus crisis, the 'PK' actor has joined the initiative with the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to tell the people that the contagion can be curbed through strict sanitation process.

"When women all over the country had decided that they would educate everyone on the lesson of close the door, shun the disease, no one had thought that their initiative would turn into such a huge wave!," the actor was seen saying in a video posted in the official Twitter handle of Swachh Bharat I #IndiaFightsCorona.

"Today, in the time of coronavirus pandemic, we all have to again remember and remind others about the lesson of cleanliness," she added.

"If we take care of cleanliness around us, by not defecating in the open, we will keep ourselves healthy and India clean. We will become strong to fight against any kind of disease," the 32-year-old star said.

The 'Sultan' actor noted that by stopping defecating in open and closing the toilet door at all times can be a solid measure to drive the disease out of the country.

New Delhi, May 29: Actor Pooja Hegde revealed that her Instagram account was hacked after unflattering memes about her colleague Samantha Ruth Prabhu were shared.

Samantha's angry fans are not buying her explanation and it has prompted a Twitter trend #PoojaMustApologizeSamantha.

On Monday night, Pooja put out a tweet that her Instagram had been hacked and was in the process of being retrieved. She urged her fans to not accept any invitations or pass out any personal information to the person asking.

She wrote, "Hi guys, so I've been informed by my team that my insta account has been hacked and my digital team is helping me with it. Please do not accept any invitations or pass out any personal information out to the person asking. Thank you."

An hour later, which she spent "stressing," the 'Mohenjodaro' star tweeted again to say the account was restored and that all activity in the while it had been hacked would be undone.

"Spent the last hour stressing about the safety of my Instagram account. Thanking my technical team for instant help at this hour. Finally, got my hands back on my Instagram Any message, follow back or post in d past hour from my account has been done will be undone. Ty," tweeted Hegde.

The 29-year-old actor announced that her feed has been cleaned up now. Her most recent Instagram post is now one on pet food that she posted three days ago.

In Pooja's tweets, there is no mention of Samantha.

According to the screenshots that are being circulated over social media, a meme of Samantha was posted from Pooja's account. It read, "I don't find her pretty at all."

This tweet has triggered Samantha's fans who have not been pacified by her explanation and are demanding that Pooja apologise, meanwhile Pooja's fans say she has nothing to apologise for.