Everything looked good for actor Emraan Hashmi in January 2013. His career was flourishing and he was enjoying parenthood with his four-year old son Ayaan.
But things took an ugly turn on January 13, 2013, when the actor was having lunch with his family at a restaurant in Mumbai. Ayaan had gone to the washroom and passed blood in his urine — the first sign of what would later be diagnosed as an extremely rare form of cancer called Wilms’ Tumour. The tumour had nearly eclipsed the four-year-old boy’s left kidney.
This experience forms the theme of the book “The Kiss of Life”, authored by Emraan Hashmi and Bilal Siddiqi, written after Ayaan was treated and declared to be “out of the red zone.”
The book published by Penguin Random House was released by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday at an event at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in the Capital.
The actor said that the book was not only for those who knew someone suffering from the disease, but for everyone as statistics reveal that 85 per cent of cancers are lifestyle-related and a result of pollutants in the air and water. Mr. Hashmi added that by 2030 four out of five people in India will have some form of cancer and will probably lose the battle.
The book also contains anecdotes from the actor’s journey in Bollywood and the struggles he had to face.
At the launch, Mr. Kejriwal said that the book was about hope. The Chief Minister said that those diagnosed with cancer should not give up as once a person loses hope, the body starts deteriorating faster. He added that there were a lot of lessons to be learnt from the book, which was for everyone to read.
Speaking about his experience, the actor recalled: “I wanted to do my own research after seeing needle after needle being jammed into Ayaan’s arm. I took to the Internet. The online world can be a treasure of information, but can also be a very scary place as you confront things that you do not want to. It was that night that I was confronted with the ‘C’ word. It was an extremely tough situation for us, as it is for anybody who has had a family member diagnosed with cancer.” He added that the worst part is the fear that the cancer may return even after chemotherapy. The actor said that all doctors say is “let’s hope for the best”, which is the best they can promise.
The actor also said that his son had taught him many lessons. He shared an incident, which finds a mention in the book, about his son wanting to take part in a race after chemotherapy. The boy stumbled twice, but still finished the race. “I learnt that life is going to hit you hard, but however shaky your feet are, you must get up, hop, stumble, but get up and continue. This is what my four-year-old son has taught me and this forms a major part of this book,” said Mr. Hashmi.
