New Delhi: Veteran action director Sham Kaushal recently opened up about his battle with cancer back in 2003 and how Nana Patekar was by his side at the hospital throughout. In an interview with ETimes, Sham Kaushal recalled the tough times and how the dreaded c-word got him to hospital for nearly 50 days.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

"In September 2003, after I came back from Ladakh after completing the shoot of 'Lakshya', I started experiencing trouble in my stomach. The shooting of Shyam Benegal's 'Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose' was going on and we had an off day for Diwali. I had a lot of pain in my stomach. The next day, I went to Nanavati Hospital for a check-up. I got hospitalised and they had to operate on my stomach. There were many complications. I had been to Nanavati Hospital before with an appendix problem with Nana Patekar. So, the doctors knew me and my condition," Sham recalled.



Nana Patekar was shooting in Pune when the doctors called him.



"Nana ji immediately left from there and came straight to the hospital," Sham added. "I was unconscious. There was an infection in my stomach. The doctors had cut out a piece of the stomach and sent it for tests. It was diagnosed as cancer. I was not sure whether I would survive or not. I have not shared this with anyone. I was in the hospital for 50 days. I came back to work after that. They kept testing me for a year. But luckily, the cancer did not spread. It’s been 19 years since that incident, " he said.