Emraan Hashmi with son Ayaan (Photo: therealemraan/ Instagram)
Years later, Hashmi wrote a book, ‘The Kiss of Life’ about that period and spoke about it publicly as well, including during an appearance on a Karamveer special episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati season 11, where he revealed a beautiful and heartfelt theatrical trick he and his wife used to get their son to eat during the hardest stretch of treatment. It was found that he was suffering from Wilms’ tumour, a rare childhood kidney cancer. Doctors named it stage one, which meant that there was a good chance of recovery, but that did not soften the shock for a family suddenly living inside a hospital routine of tests, surgery, and chemotherapy. Once treatment began, the family learned quickly that nutrition was central to helping Ayaan’s body cope with chemotherapy. Oncologists suggest that a child’s immune system needs strong nutritional support to withstand repeated rounds of treatment while undergoing chemotherapy. But getting a scared, exhausted four-year-old to eat inside a hospital room is its own battle. His son, Ayaan, began throwing objects in the hospital room and having tantrums refusal to eat food; all of it became a part of the routine. Eventually, the usual parental coaxing simply stopped working.
During his appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati’s Karamveer special, which aired as part of season 11 in November 2019, Hashmi opened up about the ordeal, narrating this excerpt to host Amitabh Bachchan, while explaining what it was like during his son’s chemotherapy journey after his son had been diagnosed with cancer five years earlier. Because Ayaan adored Batman, he rarely refused.