CANCER HAD TO FIGHT ME … I didn’t have to fight it: Says Anurag Basu

An inspiration, the judge of India’s No reality show, India’s Best Dramebaaz and ace film-maker talks about surviving the darkest phase of his life

When 7 year old Avni Gupta of Dehradun and 12 year old Aditya Singhal of Pune came together on Zee TV’s India’s Best Dramebaaz and enacted a skit depicting the buoyant spirit of a child and a clown surviving cancer, the audience watched with rapt attention and was left stunned speechless with goosebumps! But even more moved and personally touched were the judges of the show, Anurag Basu and Vivek Oberoi.

While  Anurag Da needed a moment to compose himself after the act, a teary-eyed Sonali said, “My tears are tears of joy … as Aditya and Avni beautifully showed us how one must never lose touch with positivity in the face of trials and tribulations. No matter how grave the problem at hand, one must fight it with a smile and stay afloat. And we’re proud to have one such fighter with us … Anurag Dada!”

Overwhelmed by the skit and Sonali’s touching acknowledgment of his battle with cancer, Anurag broke down and requested Vivek to speak while he composed himself. Anurag was then shown an AV where his mother and wife spoke about his battle with cancer. His mother revealed that he was diagnosed of acute promyelocytic leukemia, a condition that is usually found only in kids. Maybe he got it because he’s such an adorable child at heart. And he loves kids, simply dotes on them!”  His wife Tani Basu revealed in the audio visual, “It was barely a few months after I got married to Anurag that he was diagnosed with blood cancer.”

When it was first diagnosed, Anurag shared, “ I first felt – Why me? Doctors said the chances of survival were only about 50 percent. I told myself that I’d need to look at it as if it were just a simple cold and cough. Staying upbeat is very important. I achieved that by distracting myself with productive tasks through the day. I wrote films like Life in a Metro and Gangster in this time frame. I didn’t fight cancer… cancer had to fight me!” Anurag thanked  Dr. Banawali for helping him fight cancer.

An equally emotional Vivek Oberoi revealed that he has a connection with cancer too. He lost Mamta, his childhood sweetheart from the age of 12 to cancer at the tender age of 18. Ever since, he has been supporting a Cancer Patients Aids Associationthat hassupported over 2 lakh children suffering from the disease. Vivek also makes it a point to spend his birthday with the cancer patients, especially children at the Tata Memorial Hospital. Ragini Khanna, the anchor of the show, was so overwhelmed that she fought back tears and sang a couple of lines from the song ‘Zindagi Ki Yahi Reet Hai’ for the two judges.