Veteran actor Shivkumar Verma on ventilator; CINTAA seeks help from Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan

Veteran television actor Shivkumar Verma is currently battling for his life and has been placed on a ventilator. Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA) took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to inform fans of the news. According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, the actor was admitted to Malad’s Atlantis hospital on 30 November after complaining of breathlessness. According to the tweet, Shivkumar is in a very serious condition and is suffering from Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He is on the ventilator and was initially suspected of having COVID-19. “He is in need of urgent funds for hospital expenses. We humbly urge you to please help by donating whatever you can,” the official CINTAA circular read. See the post

AN URGENT CALL FOR HELP! #CINTAA Member Shivkumar Verma is suffering from COPD and is also suspected of COVID-19. He is in need of urgent funds for hospital expenses. We humbly urge you to please help by donating whatever you can @amitbehl @akshaykumar @TeamAkshay @iamvidyabalan pic.twitter.com/DIZYvcZaOW

— CINTAA_Official (@CintaaOfficial) December 2, 2020

The organisation tagged actors Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Sunny Deol, and Manoj Joshi among others, in an attempt to get help for the ailing Shivkumar. The Mumbai Mirror report has added, though the actor was initially suspected of having COVID-19, he has tested negative for coronavirus since then. In a conversation with Hindustan Times, CINTAA member Amit Behl revealed that they had received news of the actor’s condition on Wednesday and immediately transferred Rs 50,000 for his help. According to the report, a letter from the hospital has revealed that the total cost of his treatment over the next 10 days is likely to be around Rs 3-4 lakh.