Sharmila Tagore Talks About Her Cancer & Turning Down A Major Film On Koffee With Karan

New Delhi: Veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, who made her first ever Koffee With Karan appearance in the latest episode, has been making headlines for her bold revelations about son Saif Ali Khan’s first marriage to Amrita Singh and the subsequent breakup, his second wife Kareena Kapoor and also her own life as star of her times.

During the episode, Sharmila Tagore briefly talked about her battle with cancer. She talked about it when Karan Johar said that Sharmila Tagore was his first choice for the role of Damini Chatterjee in his latest directorial project Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. In the film, Shabana Azmi played the role that he originally wanted Sharmila Tagore to play.

“I had offered Sharmila ji the part played by Shabana (Azmi) ji in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. She was my very first choice. Due to health reasons at that time, she couldn’t say yes. but it is a regret I have,” Karan Johar said during the episode.

Sharmila Tagore stated that she wasn’t vaccinated then and wanted to be extra careful of her health, especially after her battle with cancer. “This is at the height of Covid. They hadn’t really grappled with Covid at that time. They didn’t know about the vaccine, we were not vaccinated. You know, (it was) after my cancer. So, they didn’t want me to take that risk,” Sharmila Tagore said.

The yesteryears star also opened up about how she and her husband, the late cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, coped with Saif’s secret marriage to Amrita Singh and how heartbroken they were when the couple got divorced. In both the cases, she was the first to be informed.