When Emraan Hashmi praised Akshay Kumar for reaching out after son’s cancer diagnosis: ‘He’d ring every day to check’

In 2014, Emraan Hashmi’s then three-year-old son Ayaan Hashmi was diagnosed with first stage cancer. After a five-year-long battle, Ayaan was eventually declared cancer-free, days before his ninth birthday. During this time, Emraan even briefly paused his acting career to look after his son. The actor had written a book about Ayaan’s battle with the illness. In the book, titled The Kiss Of Life – How A Superhero & My Son Defeated Cancer, Emraan recounted – among other things – how actor Akshay Kumar reached out to him during those tough times. Also read: Selfiee teaser is all about Akshay, Emraan’s energetic dance moves. Watch

In his book, which was published in 2016, Emraan talked about the difficult times that his son’s cancer brought for the family. In the book, Emraan recounted how Akshay texted him as his son was recovering after his first surgery in 2014. After enquiring about Ayaan’s health over a call sometime later, Akshay said, “If you need anything, I am a phone call away, okay? I know some good doctors and facilities. Kuch bhi chahiye bata de (Whatever you need, tell me).”

As per a report in Zoom, Emraan even recounted that Akshay would call every single day to check up on Ayaan and after the three-year-old returned home from the hospital, Akshay visited him. In the book, Emraan recounted that upon seeing Ayaan, Akshay’s eyes were brimming with tears. The actor later discovered that Akshay had lost his father Hari Om Bhatia to cancer, which is why he empathised with Emraan’s situation.

Akshay eventually wrote the foreword of Emraan’s book. It reads, “When I heard of Ayaan’s diagnosis, I felt as if I had been punched in the stomach. I remember I was driving at that time. I pulled over, found Emraan’s number and called him immediately because I know what it’s like to have someone you love deeply fall prey to this disease. “

The two actors are finally coming together for a film now. They have begun the shoot for Raj Mehta’s comedy Selfiee, which also stars Nushrratt Bharuccha and Diana Penty. The four actors recently shared a picture of them reading their scripts and goofing around on the film’s set. Recently, Emraan also cut his birthday cake on the film’s set with Akshay and others singing Baar Baar Ye Din Aaye for him.