Rakesh Roshan (THE TIMES OF INDIA; May 1, 2020)

It’s a sad day today. I’ve lost a very dear friend. I had dinner with him on March 18, a few days before the Coronavirus lockdown. We both got cancer around the same time—he was diagnosed in August and I in December. He was vibrant when I met him last. He spoke about having gone to Delhi the previous month and how the pollution there had probably caused a relapse but he insisted he was fine. Two weeks later he was hospitalised.

We go back a long way. We got close during the making of Khel Khel M0ein (1975). We went on so many holidays abroad together as couples—he, Neetu and their children (Riddhima and Ranbir) and me with my wife (Pinky) and kids (Hrithik and Sunaina). We did many films together as co-actors and later, he made a special appearance in a song in my first directorial venture and featured in Aap Ke Deewane, the first film I produced.

He was very frank but never cunning or manipulative. He was a rakhi brother to my wife and when he was in New York for his treatment, he called to tell us that he had tied a rakhi on his own hand, on her behalf. That’s how sensitive he really was.

As told to Mohua Das
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BOMBAY TIMES (May 1, 2020)

I met Chintu just about a month ago and we had drinks together, reliving our old times. That was the last time I saw him and now, I will never get to see my friend. It’s an irreparable loss. He’s left a vacuum that Can never be filled. Waking up to the news of Chintu’s demise has shaken me up completely
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As told to Upala KBR (MID-DAY; May 1, 2020)

Our friendship lasted 45 years because we were similar in nature — we loved food and drinks, and were brimming with optimism. We grew close during the making of Khel Khel Mein (1975).

Eventually, Jeetendra joined us, and we three became inseparable. We would meet every day after our respective shoots.

Chintu and I did several movies together — Jhoota Kahin Ka (1979), Khel Khel Mein and Aap Ke Deewane (1980), among others. He would never prepare for his shots, and yet, when the camera rolled, he came alive! He was so spontaneous and natural. When we were shooting for Aap Ke Deewane, I asked him how he shone in each take without having prepped for it. With a smile, he said, 'Aise hi yaar, main camera ke saamne bas masti karta hoon…' He was such an integral part of my life that I couldn't imagine my first directorial venture without him. So, I requested Chintu to do a cameo in Khudgarz (1987).

[In 2018], our cancer diagnosis came months apart — his in August, and mine in December. But we both fought with a smile on our face. He was always brave and full of life. When I met him in March before the lockdown, Chintu, Neetu and I reminisced about our good old days.

I spoke to Neetu earlier this week when I learnt he was hospitalised and prayed for his speedy recovery. I woke up this morning to a message from a friend, asking if Rishi Kapoor was all right. When I called Dabboo [Randhir Kapoor], his number was busy. That's when my heart sank and I instinctively knew something was wrong. Then I rang up Ranbir who shared the news. It was so shocking that I started crying on the phone. Instead of me consoling him, Ranbir comforted me. He has been a pillar of strength to his father.

In his first interview after life's biggest battle, Rakesh Roshan on his ordeal and finding support in his daughter, who also beat cancer
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; October 18, 2019)

In January, Hrithik Roshan sent shockwaves in the industry when he revealed on social media that his filmmaker father Rakesh Roshan had been diagnosed with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma (throat cancer) and was to undergo surgery later that day. Nine months since, Roshan — though frail — is a picture of calm and positivity, his battle with the Big C behind him.

Opening up for the first time since his diagnosis, the veteran filmmaker tells mid-day that it started last September when he noticed a seemingly harmless blister below his tongue. His first thought — "I hope it isn't cancer." After all, the family had faced the demon in 2014 when his daughter Sunaina beat cervical cancer. "I immediately called my family doctor home. He said it was nothing to worry about and gave me some medicines to treat the blister," he recounts. The chapter was forgotten until three months later when he visited Hinduja Hospital to meet a friend. "On a lark, I headed to the ENT specialist. The first thing he told me was to get a biopsy done. I came home and told my family that though the reports would come in four days, I was 100 per cent sure that I had cancer."

A series of meetings with top oncologists in the city brought his worst fears to life. "They described traumatic procedures [that involved] cutting my tongue and taking part of the skin on my wrist to replace the surface on my tongue. Thankfully, Hrithik got in touch with Dr Jatin P Shah (who holds The Elliott W Strong chair at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre) who told us that nothing of the sort was required. He would make an incision on the neck to remove the node where the cancer had spread."

If coming to terms with the disease was tough, the recovery after the surgery would be a test of his mental and physical strength. However, the filmmaker credits his fit lifestyle for holding him in good stead — two days after his operation at the HN Reliance Foundation Hospital, Roshan was home-bound.

"I went to the office the next day," he laughs, adding that he had resolved not to be defeated by the physical exhaustion that the subsequent cycles of chemotherapy brought on. "I had to undergo three cycles of chemo and 45 days of radiation. I became physically weak and would often feel giddy, but I tried to remain mentally strong. I would go to the office because I thought lying down on the bed all day would depress me. That's when negative thoughts come to you. Instead, you work out, meet people and take every day as it comes. There were days when I would get disturbed or have mood swings because of the chemo. Even then, I told myself that this is a part of the recovery."

On March 20, six months since the ordeal began, Roshan completed his treatment. Even as he describes the process as a test of one's endurance — "because it was throat cancer, it was difficult to even drink water post the surgery" — he chooses to maintain an optimistic stance. "The word 'cancer' sounds scary, but it's not. It can be treated. I knew if I harboured negativity, it wouldn't help me recover. So, I never let myself lose hope."

His family was his rock, with daughter Sunaina serving as his source of inspiration. "I got my strength from her. I used to remember how positive she was even though she was [undergoing] chemotherapy and losing her hair. As a family, we have gone through a lot of trauma. Sunaina battled cancer, Hrithik went through brain surgery, I was shot at, and had to get a bypass, my wife Pinky had a heart problem. But we are standing tall and strong, supporting each other."


The director with his family post surgery


Sunaina Roshan and Rakesh Roshan

MID-DAY (January 23, 2019)

Earlier this month, Hrithik Roshan shared the unfortunate news of his celebrated filmmaker-father Rakesh Roshan being diagnosed with throat cancer. The surgery went off well and Roshan Sr was discharged from a South Mumbai hospital within a few days. Of course, the mood at the Roshan home was sombre during that period and Hrithik had a rather quiet birthday on January 10, when he turned 45.

As a source associated with the family recalls, “Duggu took a break from his shoot and other commitments as he wanted to be by his father’s side. He is relieved that the surgery went off well.  And he even responded personally to all the people in the industry who inquired after Rakesh ji’s health.”

Now that the Krissh maker is recuperating, his superstar son has resumed work. “Hrithik has begun shooting for the second schedule of Siddharth Anand’s untitled action thriller, which also co-stars Tiger Shroff,” adds our source.

The actor, who was last seen in Kaabil, (January 2017), will play a maths professor in Super 30, which releases on July 26.

BOMBAY TIMES (January 10, 2019)

Actress Manisha Koirala says she is sure that actor-director Rakesh Roshan, who has been diagnosed with early stage cancer, will come out as a winner.

On Tuesday, actor Hrithik Roshan shared on his social media accounts that his father has been diagnosed with early stage of squamous cell carcinoma, a type of cancer.

A cancer survivor herself, Manisha reacted to the news and said, “I can say only one thing that there is a way out. One should not give up, because there is treatment available to this disease. I am sure that he will come out of it as a winner.”

Talking about her journey of overcoming cancer at the launch of her book, Manisha said, “I feel it was a kind of gift for me from life. Whenever we face any difficulties, we get upset about it. But I feel difficulties come in our lives to teach us something that we didn’t know about ourselves. It gives something good in return.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was traumatised but when I look back, I feel it has given me new perspective to see life in a different light and lot of hope about many things in life. It also made me realise about how important my life and health is to me.”

Besides Roshan, a string of Bollywood celebrities like Sonail Bendre, Irrfan Khan and Anurag Basu have fought cancer in recent times. When asked about the reason behind people from the film industry getting diagnosed with cancer more often, she said: “People know these things about Bollywood celebrities because they are public figures, but this disease is so prevalent in our society. I read one statistics that stated that in developing countries, one in every three people is diagnosed with cancer. This is the reason why it is important to do early check-ups because if you can detect it in early stage then you can treat it really well.”

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 9, 2019)

Early on Tuesday Hrithik Roshan took to the social media to share that his actor-filmmaker father Rakesh Roshan was diagnosed with early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the throat (throat cancer) a few weeks ago. “Asked my dad for a picture this morning. Knew he wouldn’t miss gym on surgery day. He is probably the strongest man I know,” the 44-year-old actor informed, adding that as a family they are “fortunate and blessed” to have a leader like his father.

Roshan senior was operated upon on Tuesday morning at a SoBo hospital. “He is better now and recovering well. We were all very tense about the surgery and the entire family was in the hospital with him. God willing, he will be up in the next three days and should be discharged from the hospital,” informed his brother and veteran music director Rajesh Roshan.

Soon after Hrithik’s tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended support to the Roshan family, saying he was praying for Rakesh. “He is a fighter and I am sure he will face this challenge with utmost courage,” the PM tweeted. Grateful for his support, Rajesh added, “That was very bighearted of the Prime Minister and a huge encouragement for both the patient and his family.”

Hrithik, responded to the PM too, thanking him for his concern and good wishes. “I am very happy to inform that according to the doctors his surgery has gone off well,” he added.

The Big C has struck many in B-town in the last year. Irrfan Khan announced in March last year that he had been diagnosed with Neuro Endocrine Tumour and has been out of the country since. In July, Sonali Bendre flew off to New York to be treated for high grade cancer that had metastised. The actress is currently in Mumbai on a “happy break”. Rishi Kapoor is also undergoing treatment in the Big Apple and Neetu recently said on the social media “hope in future cancer is only a Zodiac sign”. In November, Nafisa Ali revealed through a Facebook post that she had that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Ayushmann Khurrana’s wife Tahira Kashyap who was detected with DCIS (Ductal carcinoma in situ) in her right breast with high grade malignant cells recently underwent her last chemo.