Cinesprint - May 2015

specialSTORY
BOLLYWOOD
HAYAAN HAS TAUGHT ME
professional
22
WWW.CINESPRINT.COM | MAY 2015
THAT IT’S OKAY TO FALL:
EMRAAN
EMRAAN HASHMI
FACED THE TOUGHEST
EMOTIONAL TEST OF
HIS LIFE LAST YEAR.
EMRAAN HASHMI
A four-year-old son Ayaan
detected with cancer just three
days before him having to start
shooting for his upcoming 3D
entertainer Mr . X. While his
fighter-son battled his cancer
with the help of Batman (his
father’s voice on his mobile which
he believes is a real man, a man
who saved him from that dreaded
disease), his father stayed away
from his son for three-and-ahalf
months to complete his
commitments.His
film Raja Natwarlal bombed
at the box office, but Emraan
continued to do what he was
committed to and believed in.
Ayaan today is back to being fit
and Emraan is looking forward
to his upcoming releases. Over
an hour-long conversation at his
home, he talks to Bombay Times
about the dilemma of being a
father and a professional, what
he learnt from Ayaan and how he
has started praying every night
now.
Given that your son Ayaan was
detected with cancer just a few
days before you were to shoot Mr.
X last year, how difficult was it for
you to shoot the film?
We were to start shooting Mr .X on
January 16 last year and on January
13, the problem happened with
Ayaan and the schedule was pushed
ahead indefinitely . I realised that I
had to juggle between two things,
the role as a father and the role
as a professional and that too was
very important. So, as much as
there are people around for you,
everyone has their own kitchens
to run, so everyone’s life goes on. I
had to take a call on whether to be
with Ayaan for six months for his
treatment or not. My wife Parveen
and I decided that we settle her in
Toronto, get the chemotherapy
going and a month after his
operation, I return to work. Ayaan
is a fighter and thankfully, his body
took the chemo very well without
adverse reactions, and I flew back
a month later on Valentine’s Day
and we started shooting. It had
been a tough call for me to say a
goodbye to Ayaan and take a flight
back. I had to lie to him that I was
going to get him gifts, but I knew
that I was actually going away to
shoot for three-and-ahalf months.
I tried in between to go back to
Toronto, but couldn’t due to my
commitments. I was shooting here,
but my mind was constantly there.
You understand that nothing really
prepares you for something like
your son having cancer. The plus
point of being in the movies is that
you can escape for those couple
of hours that you are on a film set.
But you can never forget it, as it is
always at the back of your mind.You
don’t consciously think about it, but
you carry it everywhere you go. You
kind of learn to live with it, you learn
to put it on the back burner, but
suddenly , it surfaces again at times
when you least expect it to surface.
I didn’t sleep for three weeks till I
came back. I was on sleeping pills. I
used to go for bike rides alone at 3
and 4 am in the morning, as I would
not get sleep.And then, I would get
only an hour or two of sleep. But
thankfully , I was not singing or