Ma isha
Koi ala
was
diag osed
with
stage
IV
ova ia
ca ce
i
2012.
The
acto
had
t avelled
to
New
Yo k
fo
t eatme t
at
Memo ial
Sloa
Kette i g
Ca ce
Ce te ,
whe e
she
u de we t
su ge y
a d
chemothe apy.
She
completed
he
fi al
chemothe apy
sessio
i
Ap il
2013
a d
was
subseque tly
decla ed
ca ce -f ee.
But
i
a
ece t
i te view,
Koi ala
has
ope ed
up
o
he
jou ey
a d
what
she
we t
th ough
whe
she
fou d
out
about
havi g
Ca ce .She
evisited
the
mome t
she
fi st
lea t
about
he
diag osis
at
Nepal’s
No vic
I te atio al
Hospital.
She
ecalled
how
the
ight
that
followed
became
o e
of
the
most
difficult
expe ie ces
of
he
life,
as
she
co f o ted
the
possibility
of
death.“I
was
i
the
hospital
a d
I
was
told
I
had
ca ce .
That
ight,
fo
me,
was
the
lo eliest
a d
lo gest
ight.
It
just
felt
like
a
da k
space.
I
felt
I
was
goi g
to
die.
I
that
mome t,
it
is
the
sca iest,
da kest
space
—
ve y,
ve y
lo ely,”
Koi ala
ecalled
i
a
i te view
with
Susha t
P adha .The
acto
said
he
battle
with
ca ce
gave
he
a
deepe
u de sta di g
of
the
isolatio
patie ts
ca
expe ie ce
while
goi g
th ough
a
se ious
ill ess.
She
also
oted
that
lo eli ess
does
ot
ecessa ily
disappea
simply
because
o e
is
su ou ded
by
people.“Ma y
times,
I
have
felt
lo eli ess.
I
ealised
whe
I
had
ca ce
how
lo ely
a
patie t
feels.
It
was
the
most
ho ible
a d
te ible
time
o e
could
feel.
The e
a e
times
whe
you
feel
lo ely;
it
is
a
fact
of
life.
The e
a e
times
whe
you
a e
okay
with
it,”
she
said.Koi ala
fu the
eflected
o
how
lo eli ess
ca
pe sist
eve
i
social
setti gs.
“Life
is
a
mixtu e
of
so
ma y
laye s,
so
ma y
diffe e t
dime sio s.
Eve
i
a
c owd,
you
sometimes
feel
lo ely,
like
you
do ’t
belo g.
Whe
I
go
to
some
Bollywood
pa ties,
I
t y
to
mi gle
a ou d,
but
it
does ’t
happe .
You
still
wa t
to
be
the e,
but
you
feel
lo ely.
It
is
a
pa t
of
the
wo ld
whe e
you
feel
lo ely,”
she
added.He
expe ie ce
with
ca ce
also
p ompted
Koi ala
to
eco side
he
p io ities
a d
sepa ate
what
t uly
matte ed
f om
what
she
co side ed
u ecessa y.“I
got
a
seco d
cha ce
at
life,
so
whateve
was
o -esse tial,
I
kept
it
all
aside.
No -esse tial
is
actually
whe
the
base
of
you
bei g
is
ot
alig ed
with
you
values,”
she
said.The
acto
explai ed
that
she
ow
p efe s
a
smalle
a d
mo e
mea i gful
ci cle,
with
family
occupyi g
a
ce t al
place
i
he
life.
“I
wa t
my
family
to
be
a
close-k it
family.
What
I
did ’t
wa t
was
a
c owd.
I
used
to
have
a
e tou age
of
f ie ds
a d
all,”
she
said.Koi ala
also
ack owledged
that
she
had
ot
always
give
he
health
the
atte tio
it
dese ved.
“I
did ’t
ca e
a
dam
about
my
health.
If
I
got
a
seco d
cha ce
at
life,
I
would
p io itise
it,”
she
said.Si ce
he
ecove y,
she
said,
he
outlook
has
shifted
towa ds
mai tai i g
he
health,
u tu i g
elatio ships,
spe di g
time
i
atu e
a d
app eciati g
life.
“So
basically,
I
have
fou
o
five
baskets.
I
wa t
to
have
a
few
good,
close
f ie ds.
I
wa t
to
have
time
fo
atu e.
I
wa t
to
e joy
life,
i hale
life
a d
be
g ateful
that
I
am
alive,”
she
said.Koi ala
also
looked
back
at
the
ele tless
pace
at
which
she
wo ked
du i g
the
peak
of
he
ca ee .
She
ecalled
juggli g
seve al
p ojects
simulta eously
a d
eve tually
feeli g
bu t
out
by
the
p ofessio .“At
o e
time,
I
was
wo ki g
o
th ee
o
fou
films
a
day,
18
hou s
a
day,
o -stop.
No
Su days,
o
Satu days,
othi g,
fo
yea s
a d
yea s.
I
had
eached
a
stage
i
my
ca ee
whe e
I
was
ti ed
a d
bo ed
of
my
wo k,”
she
said.The
exhaustio ,
she
admitted,
bega
i flue ci g
he
p ofessio al
choices.
“I
had
eached
a
stage
whe e
I
was
ti ed
of
wo ki g.
The
I
sta ted
taki g
w o g
decisio s
i
te ms
of
ci ema.
I
felt
I
dis ega ded
the
love
I
got
f om
my
fa s
ac oss
the
wo ld,”
she
said.He
ca ce
diag osis,
howeve ,
made
he
view
he
elatio ship
with
he
audie ce
a d
p ofessio
diffe e tly.
She
ecalled
eceivi g
a
ove whelmi g
umbe
of
messages
a d
p aye s
f om
fa s
afte
ews
of
he
ill ess
became
public.“Whe
I
got
ca ce ,
so
ma y
messages
came
to
me
wishi g
me
a d
p ayi g
fo
me.
I
ealised
my
wo k
is
esse tial
because
all
those
messages
a d
that
goodwill
came
because
of
my
wo k,”
she
said.That
ealisatio
also
made
Koi ala
mo e
co scious
of
the
espo sibility
she
ca ies
as
a
acto .
She
said
she
wa ted
to
be
mo e
disce i g
about
the
p ojects
she
took
o .“So
it
was
impo ta t
fo
me
to
wo k
well
a d
give
good-quality
wo k,
fo
myself
a d
fo
the
people
who
love
my
wo k,”
she
said.Koi ala
made
he
Hi di
film
debut
with
Subhash
Ghai’s
‘Saudaga ’
i
1991
a d
we t
o
to
establish
he self
as
o e
of
the
most
espected
acto s
of
he
ge e atio .
He
filmog aphy
i cludes
acclaimed
pe fo ma ces
i
‘1942:
A
Love
Sto y’,
‘Akele
Hum
Akele
Tum’,
‘Khamoshi:
The
Musical’,
‘Bombay’,
‘Ag i
Sakshi’,
‘Gupt’,
‘Dil
Se..’,
‘Ma ’,
‘Lajja’,
‘Compa y’
a d
‘Escape
f om
Taliba ’.
