When Pradeep Rawat cried recalling cancer battle, 6 heart blockages: ‘Walked through fire’

‘I started gasping for breath on a film set’

Rawat recalled that his health problems first surfaced while he was shooting for a South Indian film. “I was shooting a fight sequence in a South film when I suddenly started gasping for breath. After the shoot, I got myself tested because I thought I had developed a heart problem.”

Doctors informed him that he had five heart blockages, each more than 90 per cent blocked, and advised him to undergo angioplasty with stents.

However, Rawat said his wife urged him to wait because stents could have limited his ability to perform physically demanding action scenes.

“At that time, I had two or three big films on the floors with action sequences. Just because I had blockages didn’t mean I would lie in bed and stop working.”

When he later consulted specialists at Mumbai’s Asian Heart Hospital, further tests revealed six blockages, all above 90 per cent. He underwent bypass surgery and lost nearly 20 kg during his recovery.

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‘Then I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer’

Just as he recovered from the surgery, Rawat was dealt another devastating blow.

“Then I noticed blood in my stool. After getting it checked, I was told I had stage 4 cancer.”

He said he understood the diagnosis even before anyone spoke to him.

“Everyone at home was shocked and started crying. When they came to me after seeing the reports, I could tell from their faces that it was cancer.”

Instead of breaking down, Rawat said he tried to reassure his family.

“I was the one comforting them. I had regained the 20 kilos I lost after the bypass surgery, and then I lost those 20 kilos all over again.”

The actor revealed that he underwent bypass surgery in 2016 and was diagnosed with cancer in 2018.

‘Not even for a moment did I think I would die’

Despite battling two life-threatening illnesses, Rawat said fear never took over.

“Not even for a moment did I feel that something would happen to me. I was the one giving courage to my family. Even today, I exercise for two hours every day, and I am ready for anything.”

Rawat said that when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, he remembered something his late mother had always told him—that whatever is meant to happen will happen. As he spoke about her, the actor broke down in tears.

“Then I remembered my mother. She is no longer with us, but her blessings stayed with me. She taught me so much. My biggest regret is that I wasn’t with her when she passed away. I was shooting in a remote jungle where it took an entire day to reach. My strength went away when my mother left me.”

About Pradeep Rawat

Pradeep Rawat’s career spanned more than four decades across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Nepali and Marathi cinema. While he began acting in the early 1980s, it was his portrayal of Ashwatthama in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat that made him a household name. He later became one of Indian cinema’s most memorable screen villains with films like Ghajini and S.S. Rajamouli’s Sye.

Rawat went on to feature in a long list of successful films, including Lagaan, Sarfarosh, The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, Stalin, Rowdy Rathore, Veeram, 1: Nenokkadine, Loukyam, Nenu Sailaja, Sarrainodu, Nene Raju Nene Mantri, Aayirathil Iruvar, Market Raja MBBS and Miss Match.

Even in the final years of his career, Rawat remained an active presence on screen. He appeared in films such as Waltair Veerayya, Gulu Gulu and Chhaava.