13 May,2026 01:48 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Sharib Hashmi with wife Nasreen (Pic/Instagram)
Sharib Hashmi, who is best known for his role as JK in the popular web series The Family Man, recently opened up about his wife Nasreen's eight-year-long fight with oral cancer. He shared that Nasreen is a five-time oral cancer survivor since her first diagnosis in 2018. He added that, unfortunately, the cancer has relapsed for the sixth time.
Recalling their fight with the disease over the years, Sharib, during a chat with Hautterfly, said "She has undergone surgery five times now. She has relapsed five times. It has come back for the sixth time. This time it has spread everywhere. This shall pass too - the treatment is going on. Jis tareeke se ye deal kar rahi thi, usse hum sab ko himmat fir milne lagi. Uska jo cancer hai, kaafi aggressive nature ka hai, isliye itni baar relapse hota hai, lekin uske bawajood bhi ye kaafi himmat ke saath ussey deal karti hai. Fight karti hai (The way she deals with it gives us the courage. The cancer is very aggressive, hence it has relapsed so much. But still, she has been fighting so well)."
Nasreen, who was also seen with The Family Man actor on the show, shared how he has been a support during the crisis.
"He didn't leave my side. Even if there was a shoot and he was busy, he still manages to reach the hospital. From the time we are in the hospital till discharge, he would take his bag and sit there. He would not move. Constantly, him being there used to feel very good to me - that he is there for me. That was comforting. In many ways, he has been there," Nasreen added.
The couple also opened up about their financial struggles. Sharib Hashmi revealed earned Rs 25,000 monthly while working at MTV in the early 2000s. Later, he quit his job just five years into his marriage in 2003. The actor said, "It was a very difficult decision. If she'd (his wife) said no, I'd have continued to lead my life like that, where there'd be nothing else besides work."
Nasreen Hashmi added how she wanted to support her husband because he had complete faith in his talent; however, the challenges continued for a decade as their savings were drying up. She said, "I sold my jewellery bit by bit. We couldn't continue with our house either and had to sell it. Then I had to sell the house from my inheritance. Every time we got excited by an opportunity, an obstacle would crop up."
Sharib recalled, "There was a point when we had zero money, not even enough to last us another day. So one day, I was just sitting outside a mall, thinking who I should call in this crisis."
