National Award winning filmmaker opens up about his battle with cancer 

Award winning filmmaker Mahesh Manjrekar, who had previously been diagnosed with urinary bladder cancer, has announced that he has fully recovered after undergoing surgery two months ago. The filmmaker, who has hosted Bigg Boss Marathi since 2018, is the recipient of the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi for Astitva and two Star Screen Awards. 

Speaking about the struggles he faced during the shooting of his film ‘Antim: The Final Truth,’ Mahesh Manjrekar had said during the trailer launch, “During ‘Antim’, I was diagnosed with cancer. I shot the last portions when I had cancer and was taking chemotherapy. Today, I am happy to tell you all that I am cancer-free. I had to take chemotherapy first before going in for a huge surgery. During the shoot, I was under chemotherapy but it didn’t affect me that much. 

“I have realised that work, passion drives you. I always think positive. When I was told I have cancer, it didn’t shock me. I accepted it. There are so many people who get cancer, (but) they fight and survive. So it didn’t bother me too much. All of them (the team) were caring and helping, there was no problem. I was quite comfortable. Both of them (Salman Khan, Aayush Sharma) were very supportive,” he had added. 

Explaining that he could have saved his bladder if he had started the treatment for cancer one and a half years back, Mahesh Manjrekar said, “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. Salman insisted that I go abroad and get the treatment done but I trusted our doctors here.”