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Ace filmmaker Anurag Basu, who recently made headlines with his latest release Metro In Dino, was once diagnosed with blood cancer in 2004. His story of battling cancer is all about determination, willpower, and survival. Let’s look back at the time when Anurag reminisced about his journey of surviving through one of the darkest phases of life. Read on to know more.
Anurag Basu Diagonised With Blood Cancer
In a podcast with Unfiltered with Samdish, Anurag revealed he got diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, which is a rare form of blood cancer. He said, “At that time, Tani (his wife) was 7 months pregnant with Ishana. And she used to struggle with staying close to me. I was pushing myself for two months so that I could see the baby’s face. Then after that, I kept pushing myself.” Basu shared that while shooting for Murder and Saaya, he started getting big blisters, and the doctor suggested him for a thorough checkup. But he kept delaying and went back to shoot, which made the condition even worse. So, the doctors said he had only two weeks to survive. “By evening, Mukesh Bhatt said, ‘Pack up karo. And Mukesh Bhatt saying pack up karo is impossible aur bole jaldi aa jaao doctor ke pass’. When I looked at my mom and dad’s face, I felt like something was serious,” he recalled.
Anurag Basu Sneaked Out From His Hospital Room
Basu admitted that there was a time when his parents soon stopped facing him because they couldn’t see him. He added, “I felt fine except for some headaches and weakness. I even sneaked out from my hospital room for a beer with Emraan Hashmi and others. But my condition was deteriorating rapidly as no medicine was helping. My internal organs were bleeding buckets. People kept coming to donate blood.”
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Mahesh Bhatt & Anupam Kher Came To Meet Him
The filmmaker further mentioned that he realised that he was seriously ill when Mahesh Bhatt came to meet him. He said, “He put his hands on my forehead and was shaking, and I could feel him.. He’s otherwise a very calm person. Even Anupam Kher came to meet me. After seeing those two, I realised that something is wrong.”
Anurag Basu Was Shifted To Tata Hospital
Anurag continued sharing that he was at Lilavati hospital for 30 days, and nothing worked, after which he was shifted to Tata hospital and said, “My face was bloated. I was not able to breathe. I felt like I was suffocating. So, I knew something was really wrong. As soon as I reached Tata hospital, I was put on a ventilator. I wasn’t able to get a bed there. It was Sunil Dutt who got me one. I feel blessed to be a part of the film industry, that I immediately got a bed and treatment. A common man would have struggled. Whoever knew me from television was doing everything they could, sending messages, asking for blood to save me. I don’t even know who donated blood and platelets for me, whose blood is running in my veins today?”
Anurag Basu’s Recovering Phase
After going through all of this, his chemotherapy began. So, he started his career from scratch with television. And his family supported him and started recovering gradually. “While shooting Gangster, I was taking chemotherapy. Now, when I see old photos, I see myself wearing masks and all,” he concluded.
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