Meet actress who was abandoned by friends, family after cancer diagnosis; then made strong comeback with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's show

Manisha Koirala, one of the most popular actresses in Bollywood, shared in an interview that her fight with cancer taught her important lessons about her relationships. She said that during her illness, many friends she depended on left her, and only her close family stayed by her side to support her.

She also mentioned that despite being financially secure, her extended family did not visit her during her cancer struggle. This experience led her to seek therapy, which proved to be incredibly helpful. In an interview with NDTV, Manisha reflected on how her cancer battle changed her relationships with both friends and family.

 

 

 

 

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Manisha Koirala said, “It’s been a journey. It has also been a learning experience. I really believed that I had multiple friends. I thought partying together, travelling together, having fun together, people will sit with me in my pain. That was not so. People are not capable of sitting with anybody’s pain, let alone their own pain. We always try to find excuses to not feel pain. We want to escape pain. That’s human nature. I found myself very lonely, and I realised that only my immediate family was around me."

Manisha further stated, “I also have a huge Koirala khandaan. Nobody was there. I have a big family, and everybody is affluent, they can all afford it. But it was my parents, it was my brother, it was my brother’s wife. And that is it. And I realised that when everybody leaves me, these are the people who will be with me. My priority is my immediate family, no matter what. They come first in my life, everybody else later."

Manisha Koirala, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012, received treatment in New York. During the NDTV interview, she talked about how the effects of the illness still influence her work pace and mood, especially while working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Netflix series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar. 

She made a strong comeback with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Heeramandi, and won everyone's hearts.