Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 3, 2013)

Neeraj Kabi, who played Maitreya, the ailing monk who rejects medicine to protest animal testing in Anand Gandhi’s Ship of Theseus is recovering from a Hernia infection.

It is learnt that Kabi’s commitment towards his role, which required him to fight hunger and go on empty stomach for days at stretch, caused the ailment.

A few days ago, the veteran theatre actor-director complained of abdomen pain, and the doctor advised him to get admitted to a hospital immediately.

He was in the danger zone for quite a few days. Although he has been discharged and is on the road to recovery, the actor is still immobile and has been advised complete bedrest. All this has led to a delay in his upcoming projects.

When we contacted Kabi, he said, “It has been quite a scary phase, but right now I'm fine, though I cannot move. The physical transformation that I went through for Ship of Theseus (the actor lost almost 17 kilos for the role) caused it. I’m an actor, and whatever it takes to convincingly portray my character, I will do it.”