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‘NOT AN IDEAL SITUATION TO BE IN’
Actor and MP Kirron Kher talks about life, work and recovery after cancer diagnosis
Early this year, actor Anupam Kher took to social media to share that his wife, actor and MP Kirron Kher, has been detected with multiple myeloma and is undergoing treatment.
In the last few months, her son Sikander Kher has been updating fans with news about her health. And just a few days back, Kirron herself took to Instagram to share that she is working from home. She tells us that she never stopped working. “I was working even when I was in the hospital, going through treatments,” shares Kher, who adds that she has been in touch with people on phone all along. The actor continues, “I inaugurated an oxygen plant recently in Chandigarh, virtually. My doctor isn’t letting me travel anywhere, especially by air, since my immunity is compromised due to the treatment.”
When one is battling a lifethreatening illness, it is difficult to maintain a positive outlook and the Khoobsurat (2014) actor admits all this has made her less positive: “It’s not the ideal situation to be in.
Par yeh zindagi hai. One learns to deal with it and carry on. There’s no way out except to treat it. Nobody likes going through treatments or its side effects.” Kher, 69, will have to visit the hospital once a month for maintenance therapy. She says, “Some people get cured and some don’t... But it’s something I have to accept.”
Lastly, Kher shares that she is overwhelmed with all the love that has come her way. “I’m not active on social media but Anupam ji has been telling me about it. I’m grateful to them and God,” she ends.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan is going through a tough personal phase with his son, Aryan Khan, 23, embroiled in a drugs case. However, SRK is also feeling the heat from other quarters of life. Reportedly, Byju’s, an educational technology company, has temporarily paused all ads featuring the actor. With this move, is SRK’s brand value going to take a hit? Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar says that even though everyone knows the current situation is just a “tamasha” and brands will pause ads targetted towards children because the “advertising world hates controversy, they
never take sides.” He explains, “Rivals might use it saying your brand ambassador’s son is doing drugs, what are you teaching children?”
Producer Pritish Nandy feels, “SRK’s brand value is no longer as strong as it once was when his films were doing much better. But that cannot be attributed to the episode involving his son.” Trade expert Atul Mohan agrees and feels that this is all temporary. He says, “I think he will emerge stronger after this. This (case involving Aryan) is generating sympathy towards the Khan family.”
Explaining what decides an actor’s brand value, Nandy says that it is their saleability at the box office in addition to “credibility and the sense of responsibility that a person carries on their shoulder”. He says, “I will be very surprised if someone who is extremely successful but not trustworthy would fetch a large sum of money as an endorser for a brand.”