Image was shared on Instagram. (courtesy: ayushmannk)

It’s World Cancer Day today and Ayushmann Khurrana has shared a heartfelt message for his wife Tahira Kashyap, who is a breast cancer survivor. Diagnosed in 2018, the director and author has openly shared her journey of overcoming the challenges of the disease. To express his admiration towards Tahira, Ayushmann posted a carousel of photos and videos on his Instagram handle. The initial frame captures the couple smiling for a mirror selfie. The sequence continues with a post-surgery picture of Tahira. The subsequent image and video feature Tahira proudly wearing a t-shirt that states, “F*#k cancer!” In the caption, Ayushmann tagged his wife and wrote, “The girl I pulled by having samosa and chai at hut number 14 in Panjab University. All the best for your debut at the spoken fest today. In love with your heart and spirit.” He also attached raising hands, face holding tears, and red heart emojis to the caption.

Upon sharing the post, Ayushmann Khurrana received an outpouring of love and support from fellow celebrities. Veteran actress Sonali Bendre, a survivor of cancer, expressed her solidarity with red heart emojis. Joining in, actress Diana Penty and comedian Kiku Sharda also showered affection with red heart emojis. Ali Fazal and several other stars followed suit. 

A few years ago, Ayushmann Khurrana shared the challenging experience of receiving the news about Tahira’s cancer diagnosis. In an interview with Rajeev Masand, Ayushmann revealed, “It was very difficult. In fact, thanks to her she was brave enough to take that positively otherwise I would have broken, it completely. Because I was in the middle of two films I was promoting AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho. And we got to know about this on my birthday. In fact, we saw Manmarziyaan that day… we saw Manmarziyaan on September 14 and we got to know of this disease.”

“She was like ‘I want to just celebrate my life. I’ll take it head on and we are together in this both fighting the disease and also promoting the films. So, it was a collective effort from both sides. But I am glad she’s overcome this and as we speak she’s giving a lecture on cancer, how to fight, how to combat it. She’s a leader now to cancer patients and an inspiration,” Ayushmann Khurrana added.

Tahira Kashyap and Ayushmann Khurrana got married in 2008 after a prolonged period of dating. They are proud parents to son Virajveer and daughter Varushka.