We artistes are the worst hit," rues Niiya Kumar, the brain behind Actors Unlocked, a series of masterclasses that aims to raise funds for fellow artistes around the country. Kumar, a Mumbai-based actor and movement artiste, busied herself in relief work once the COVID crisis hit, responding to Facebook requests, organising and coordinating funds and distribution. "While I was arranging transport for migrant workers, I was shocked to receive requests from fellow artistes for the same, too. I froze. It made me realise that we were a very vulnerable community, too," she says adding, "There were other stories of actors with suicidal thoughts and a spot boy roaming the streets with a placard. They broke my heart." It was around this time that Artists for Artists, an initiative providing support to city-based artistes came into being. It got Kumar thinking.

She got together a team of fellow artistes — Vara Raturi (D for Drama), Dhiraj Wadhwani (Offbeat Circuit) and Pune-based Mayuri Joshi Dhavale. The lack of institutional funding and the dream of performance venues resuming distant, Kumar realised that support had to come from within the community.