'Bachchans were privileged to have got top-class treatment'

As fans across India prayed on Monday for Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and other members of his family who have contracted the coronavirus, some people said Bachchans were privileged to have got top-class treatment immediately while many others struggled with a shortage of hospital beds, medics and medicines in major cities.

“Without any malice for them, and hoping that they get well soon, this only makes many wonder how easily they got beds while regular common ppl are struggling,” tweeted @rajneilkamath, a factchecker.

Bachchan, 77, and his son, Abhishek, remained in hospital in Mumbai while daughter-in-law and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and his eight-year-old granddaughter, who also tested positive were at home, quarantined.

The Bachchans are the highest-profile Indians to have contracted the virus, which is spreading faster after a months-long lockdown was eased at the end of May to revive a battered economy.

A spokeswoman for Nanavati hospital where the father and son are admitted declined any comment, saying the family will provide updates. Bachchan is a prolific Twitter user and had announced his illness on Saturday after he was admitted to the hospital.