Manisha Koirala Recalls Feeling Abandoned And Lonely Amid Cancer Battle: ‘Nobody Was There’

Manisha Koirala remembers the worst days of her life when she was diagnosed with cancer and her closest friends abandoned her.

Manisha Koirala talks about how cancer diagnosis made her realise a lot of things. ( Image Source :Instagram/@m_koirala )

New Delhi: 'Heeramandi' actress Manisha Koirala said that her experience with cancer made her realise things about her relationships. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. Notwithstanding, she recovered quickly and returned to acting. During her sickness, the actress said that her once-close friends and extended family abandoned her. 

In an interview with NDTV, Manisha discussed how the cancer battle has affected her relationships with loved ones. She said, “It’s been a journey. It has also been a learning experience. I really believed that I had multiple friends. I thought partying together, travelling together, having fun together, people will sit with me in my pain. That was not so. People are not capable of sitting with anybody’s pain, let alone their own pain. We always try to find excuses to not feel pain. We want to escape pain. That’s human nature.”

Continuing the discussion, Manisha Koirala said that her immediate family members were the only ones who remained loyal to her throughout her battle. She recalled being ‘lonely’ at that time. “I found myself very lonely, and I realised that only my immediate family was around me.  also have a huge Koirala khandaan. Nobody was there. I have a big family, and everybody is affluent, they can all afford it. But it was my parents, it was my brother, it was my brother’s wife. And that is it. And I realised that when everybody leaves me, these are the people who will be with me. My priority is my immediate family, no matter what. They come first in my life, everybody else later,” the actress said.

Manisha Koirala in 'Heeramandi'

Manisha Koirala recently featured in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar' for Netflix. The actress plays Mallika Jaan in the period drama. The 1940s, just before independence, provided the setting for Heeramandi. The series follows the lives of nawabs and courtesans in a notorious red-light district. The series has an A-list cast that includes Sharmin Segal, Sanjeeda Sheikh, Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Faredeen Khan and Richa Chadha.