The past few years had been hell for Emraan Hashmi. His son Ayaan was diagnosed with cancer and his world had fallen apart. Thankfully things are looking up now with Ayaan being better and going back to school.
“We had never thought that this could happen to us – my son being diagnosed with cancer. When we heard the news, it felt as if the world would come tumbling down. But we had to behave normally in front of Ayaan,” says Emraan, adding, “We kept telling him stories to keep his mind off the pain. Since he was four, he did not understand the enormity of his illness, so for him, it was nothing major. He is back in school after six months and some of his friends feel that he was away on a holiday. All my friends, family and people in the film fraternity supported us a lot.”
He says that he is a changed man now. “I lost my grand aunt and grandmother the year before last… and then with Ayaan’s illness I guess I have become more than normal. ‘Hope’, I guess has given me the strength. Everyone fears losing people close to them, but when we have hope, we have a feeling that we can pull away from our agonies and turn bad times into good.
“My outlook towards life has changed,” says the actor, adding, “Kids are resilient and do not understand what they are going through. But yes, when Ayaan grows up, knowing what he faced at this tender age will surely make him a stronger human being.”
Talking about whether he would want his son to become an actor, Emraan says, “Times have changed a lot. I remember when I kissed for the first time (on screen), it was a big thing. On hearing about my on screen smooch, my father had merely ‘blushed’. If my son becomes an actor I might have problems with what he does. Generations keep changing… he may go ahead and do something more shocking. I feel when my son watches my films after growing up, I’ll be like a saint to him.”
