To an outsider, Rajshri Deshpande’s is a story of survival as the actor has been on the path to recovery after being diagnosed with grade 1 breast cancer in March. But to her, it’s also a story of love. Talking to mid-day, she said that the cancer diagnosis came up as a “wake-up call” to go back to loving herself. “I loved myself all these years. I was always a fearless person. But somewhere you forget [self-love]. For me, it was a wake-up call that I was stressing myself mentally,” she shared.

Besides acting, Deshpande works towards rural development through her non-profit organisation Narbhangan Foundation. She said the stress that accompanies social work had taken a toll on her. “Sometimes you are dealing with an issue and thinking about it. Carrying it [within] hurts you,” she said.