'Antim' director Mahesh Manjrekar opens up about his cancer ordeal, recalls 'during the shoot, I began bleeding'

New Delhi: Director Mahesh Manjrekar, who battled cancer for a year and a half, opened up on his ordeal with the disease in an interview with a leading daily. The director had learned he had cancer while shooting for his film 'Antim: The Final Truth'.

He revealed that one day on the shoot of his upcoming film 'Antim: The Final Truth' he was bleeding. This led him to get a check-up which in turn revealed that he had cancer.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Mahesh Manjrekar (@maheshmanjrekar)

 

Speaking about how he found how he had cancer, he told Hindustan Times, "I was undergoing treatment for overactive bladder for one and a half years. But one day during the shoot of Antim: The Final Truth, I began bleeding. So, I had to go and get it checked. Turned out I had cancer all the while. I could have saved my bladder if I started the treatment for cancer one and a half years back."

The director continued shooting while he was under chemotherapy for three months. Although he said, Salman Khan insisted that he get medical aid from abroad, the director decided to complete his treatment in the country.

 

 

 

 

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He further said, "I wasn’t too affected by chemo and thought that I might as well finish the film. And anyway after the surgery, I needed three months to recuperate."

Manjrekar also said that he wanted people around him to not make a big deal about his cancer and had asked them to not talk about it.

"I had instructed everyone around me to not talk about it. So many people get cancer and hence, I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. It could also have appeared as if I’m asking for sympathy," he added.

 

 

 

 

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Mahesh Manjrekar is a critically acclaimed filmmaker with many hits in his career such as Vaastav: The Reality in 1999, Astitva in 2000, and Viruddh... Family Comes First in 2005. The director has won many awards as well such as a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi and several Star Screen awards.

In 2018, he had hosted the Marathi version of Bigg Boss.

His upcoming film 'Antim: The Final Truth' starring Salman Khan and Aayush Sharma will hit the theatres on November 26.