Actor Bhagyashree finally made a return to the big screen — more than a decade after her last stint — with Thalaivii. The actor, who was last seen in Red Alert: The War Within (2010), attributes the hiatus to a health condition, which, in turn, led her to studying more about nutrition and fitness.

Talking about it, Bhagyashree shares, “During the course of the shooting for my television show Laut Aao Trisha (2014-15), I couldn’t move my right hand and it took me a year to recover from it.”

The 52-year-old actor reveals that this “life-changing” episode opened up a new world for her and she took to studying during that period. “I studied nutrition and fitness, virtually, from Stanford University, American Fitness and Professional Associates, and University of Pennsylvania (UPENN).”

She continues, “The doctors had suggested surgery but I was really scared of it. I self-healed, which came as a shock and surprise to them. I realised that a simplistic way of living can help one heal within their home.”

On the work front, Bhagyashree is looking forward to the release of Radhe Shyam, another pan-India project, after Thalaivii. She says, “Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) was dubbed in a dozen languages. It was the biggest hit, be it in Tamil, Telugu or Spanish. I went to Spain a few years ago and people recognised me from the film. I would say that multilingual is my forte (laughs).”

She believes that now is the right time to make her return to Bollywood. “I’ve been very lucky and blessed... The money is crazy right now and I’m glad that I have come back at the right time,” ends the actor.