'It Was Cut Out Of Her': Soha Ali Khan Opens Up On Sharmila Tagore's Silent Battle With Lung Cancer

Veteran actress, Sharmila Tagore used to be one of the most beautiful actresses of Indian cinema at the prime of her acting career. In her decades-long journey in front of the camera, Sharmila has worked opposite some of the biggest heroes in Hindi and Bengali cinema, including Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Dilip Kumar, Uttam Kumar and Dev Anand. In a world where celebrity lives are an open book, Sharmila Tagore quietly braved stage-zero lung cancer, until now.

Soha Ali Khan talks about Sharmila Tagore’s cancer diagnosis

In a heartfelt interview with Nayandeep Rakshit on his YouTube channel, Soha Ali Khan revealed that the legendary star quietly battled stage-zero lung cancer. After suffering multiple losses in the family, Sharmila’s lung cancer diagnosis had a silver lining, as she was one of the very few people to be diagnosed at stage zero. Talking about how doctors had to cut off the cancer from Sharmila’s lungs, Soha shared:

“I have had loss in my family. We have been through stressful situations as everybody does. With my mother, she was one of the very few people to be diagnosed with lung cancer at stage zero, and no chemotherapy, nothing. It was cut out of her, and she is, touchwood, fine.”

Sharmila Tagore’s cancer diagnosis

Sharmila Tagore’s battle with cancer was unknown to her fans until she herself talked about it during an appearance on Karan Johar’s talk show, Koffee With Karan, alongside her son, Saif Ali Khan. Karan shared that Sharmila was his first choice for the role of Shabana Azmi in the Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh-starrer Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. However, the Aradhana actress had to turn down the offer due to health complications. Karan Johar recalled:

“I’d offered Sharmila ji the part played by Shabana ji, she was my very first choice. But because of health reasons at that time, she couldn’t say yes. It is a regret I have.”

At the time of the film’s production, Sharmila Tagore was at serious health risk, having recently recovered from cancer and the COVID-19 pandemic, which was at its peak. Due to these reasons, they decided against risking health complications for the actress. Sharmila responded to Karan by saying:

“It was at the height of COVID. They hadn’t really grappled with COVID at that time, we were not vaccinated. After my cancer… They didn’t want me to take that risk.”

Sharmila Tagore’s professional front

Now, at 80 years old, Sharmila Tagore is ageing like fine wine, and she is in no mood to slow down. Her quiet strength and dignified privacy through such a turbulent time is drawing admiration from fans and fellow artists alike. In 2023, the diva wowed audiences with her role in Gulmohar, opposite Manoj Bajpayee. The film received significant critical acclaim and bagged three National Awards, including Best Feature Film in Hindi. Her most recent project, the Bengali film, Puratwan, co-starring Rituparna Sengupta, was released just this Friday, April 11, 2025. 

What do you think about Sharmila Tagore’s silent battle with stage-zero lung cancer?

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