Ruslaan Mumtaz: “I Can’t Believe I Survived That Nightmare”

“The buildings around were collapsed or damaged. All the trees were uprooted. Things were very scary.

PHOTO: Ruslaan Mumtaz in Manali, raging beats behind her. Photos: Courtesy of Ruslaan Mumtaz

Actor Ruslan Mumtaz had gone to Manali for a film shoot with a 40-member crew.

He reached Manali on 3rd July and was scheduled to wrap up his shoot by 23rd July.

For a week, things went smoothly, until Nature showed her fury, endangering everyone’s lives.

Ruslaan spoke Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com about his traumatic experience of being trapped in floods and landslides in Himachal Pradesh.

On 9th July I had a day off from my Manali shoot and enjoyed my stay at Shirar Resort watching the river Beas pass by the property.

In the afternoon, an intuition of impending danger settled on me.

From the resort, I saw the water level rise in the Beas due to heavy rains.

I kept asking everyone, “Isn’t this a dangerous sign?”, but no one seemed to take me seriously.

I guess the Mumbaikar in me saw the danger signs of the monsoon mix that wreaks havoc all the time.

But then for other shooters at the resort and even the locals, it was just a passing day of heavy rain that subsided.

At 2:00 pm suddenly the lights went out in the resort but still it seems no one was bothered by our team of 40 as they played table tennis and snooker in the resort while the filming took a break.

For some reason I didn’t feel comfortable and I continued to pack my bag, I kept my phone, wallet, power bank in a plastic bag and then put them in my suitcase.

Everyone told me to relax and after a while I started chilling too, but I kept my suitcase with me all the time.

While I was playing table tennis, the hotel owner came and told us all that for safety reasons we have to move out of the resort area to another area as the water level in the Beas was rising.

This was when everyone in my unit started to panic.

I had never seen a natural disaster in my life. And while I was making videos on my Instagram account to reach Manali, I wasn’t sure what I would face in the coming days.

We were then moved out of our rooms and into the resort’s clubhouse.

In two hours, which was around 6 p.m., the clubhouse was also not in the safety zone as the water level kept rising.

We were evacuated again and the owner of the resort (Nakul Mahant) told us to move further inside the property.

Then he moved us all to the servants’ quarters. We had to stay there and the night began.

We were stuck in the servants quarters that night and lost power.

Nakul told us that he would move us back to our rooms the next morning as soon as the water level receded.

He used to have his staff follow the guests and make sure they all got hot food and proper shelter.

The menu was the same like the black dal and rice we eat in the resort restaurant and the same thing was served to us when we stayed in the servants quarters.

Soon we forgot about the floods and started celebrating. Everyone hoped for the best and felt that the next day we would start filming.

The next morning at 8 o’clock Nakul said that the entire property of the resort was in danger as the water level continued to rise and told us to move out of the place.

Then he arranged the cars for us which were three kilometers away from the resort. He told us that we would have to walk through the water because cars couldn’t enter the resort.

PHOTO: Beat had eaten into the embankment.

The advice I give to anyone caught in floods or rain is to always have plastic bags and a backpack with you. Put your essentials in a plastic bag and put the plastic bag in your suitcase.

Sometimes I walked in knee-deep water, but I wasn’t worried about my stuff because I knew my cell phone and wallet were safe.

After three kilometers of walking, we reached the cars that took us to school. We soon noticed that there was no water or electricity in the school.

I got nervous so Nakul put me in the house of one of his relatives.

He did so even though his fortune was being destroyed. He never made any of us feel like our lives were in danger.

My sanity remained in this tragedy because Nakul remained so calm at that time.

Then I moved to Atul and Richa Khullar’s house. This couple was very sweet and friendly. There was no electricity in their home, but they charged my phone by starting their car.

By doing so, I was able to keep in touch with my family in Mumbai. I was able to get network sporadically, but the internet data was not working. My battery was very low and all I could do was tell my family I was safe and then hung up.

If this couple had not been with me during those three days, I would have gone into depression. I will always be grateful to them for keeping me sane during those three horrific days. I am forever grateful for their hospitality.

When things calmed down, they suggested I go to Kullu Airport, which was an hour away from their place.

On the way to Kullu airport, I saw signs of the destruction caused by the floods. The surrounding buildings had collapsed or been damaged. All the trees were uprooted. Things were very scary.

I reached Kullu airport to fly to Delhi and from Delhi came to Mumbai.

Right now I am sitting comfortably in my home and now when I think about my Manali picture I can’t believe that I survived that nightmare.

I am happy to say that all the 40 crew members are back in Mumbai, but I am still in shock after seeing those pictures and videos.

I say to myself: Oh my God, I was just there!