Actress Manisha Koirala tells Iknoor Kaur that while she wants to spread awareness about cancer, she doesn’t want to be synonymous with the disease
With her hair grown back, skin glowing and a familiar candour in the way she spoke, Manisha Koirala was bubbly and free when we spotted her in a chic white mid-long jacket recently. She was in the Capital to extend support to cancer survivors. “I think a lot needs to be done to spread awareness about the disease and there are organisations working in this direction,” she said.
Manisha feels that the stigma attached to cancer is too much and someone should break the stereotype. “Unfortunately Bollywood portrays that if somebody has cancer, they’re dead. But cancer does not mean that you will be dead. We have survivors, long-term survivors and medical science has improved so much nowadays,” she shared while elaborating on the importance of a support system. “I had a support system. I came from a background where people understood me. What happens to those people who don’t have a support systemIJ They are either poor or their families are ignorant. They feel that it is cancer so why should we waste our money on the treatment because the person will die anyway. So they won’t even get a treatment when they deserve one. People kill themselves even before cancer attacks,” she said.
The entire journey was not an easy one for Manisha. She said, “It takes a toll on your life and it’s tough for others to see you suffering. I know what my family must have gone through seeing me in that condition, but I am fortunate that they had stuck by me especially at the time when I wanted to give up because the pain was unbearable. Without that support it would have been very difficult.” Thus the actress is now trying to reach out to people, however she doesn’t want to be tagged. “Ideally speaking I don’t want to associate with cancer anymore because it’s beginning to get too much. People look at my face and they are like ‘cancer’. I don’t want it to be like that. I want to reach out to people, but I want to do events and spread awareness, not always be associated with the disease,” she explained.
Manisha’s lifestyle has changed leaps and bounds after cancer. She said, “I think my lifestyle is great now, it’s absolutely fun. However, the idea and concept of fun has changed for me. It’s no longer partying and clubbing, now I love going for walks and talking about holistic lifestyle. It’s all about health now.” She also took help of yoga and spiritual healing to recuperate. “I need to be calm and in positive state of mind. So I am getting healing from an American healer based out of Delhi but he uses a lot of ancient Chinese and Indian methods. Obviously medical science is there to help me but I have to imbibe a holistic lifestyle now. I try different breathing techniques and yoga. I also want to learn Qigong,” she added.
At the moment Manisha has a lot on her plate. She said, “I have started painting and I’m writing a book. I am also working on my NGO which will focus more on precautions than the cure. I’m forming one because I think it’s really important to have a platform where you can contribute to the society.”
The actress is also interested in going back to acting and feels that now the whole experience will be a cakewalk. “I’m reading a couple of scripts but nothing interesting is coming my way. I do want to get back to acting. I think I can handle the pressure. After all that I have gone through, this is nothing,” she concluded.