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Actor Tannishtha Chatterjee embraces theatre comeback amid recovery: Work makes me forget all pain
Actor-director Tannishtha Chatterjee, known for her roles in various films, makes a stage comeback in Breast of Luck after facing health issues.
Actor-director Tannishtha Chatterjee, best known for her performances in Dekh Indian Circus (2011), Gulaab Gang (2013), and Angry Indian Goddesses (2015), is embracing a stage comeback with Breast of Luck after a decade amid severe health challenges.
The 45-year-old says, “I have been grappling with severe nerve damage in my left arm, sustained on the side of my surgery after a radiation session. This has resulted in restricted movement and excruciating pain, and I have been on painkillers.”
She adds, “According to my physiotherapist, what will work best is exercising in the swimming pool, but it will only be possible once the weather is better.”
Despite her mother’s insistence that she rest, Tannishtha chose to dive back into work: “The last time I was on stage was somewhere in 2014-15 at NCPA... I wanted to resume work.” She is working on her upcoming musical, which she co-wrote with actor Sharib Hashmi and directed by Leena Yadav. “I have to constantly be cautious with my arm. Even my co-actors of my comeback play, Breast of Luck, have to be careful because if someone hurts my arm even a little bit, I will definitely scream. But I had to get back to work to keep my mind sane and forget all about my ill health."
Diagnosed with stage-4 oligometastatic cancer in January last year, her chemotherapy ended in mid-2025, she is still on the path to recovery. “At the end of the month I will have to be back to hospital to follow 21-day cycle of target therapy, infusion and all. Woh bhi chal raha sath mein. I need to take it easy for the next few months as far as resuming films is concerned due to my treatment. I got a few offers but I can’t take the stress of tough shooting schedules, so I might resume after all this is over. Till then, keeping busy with theatre is my way out. The end of January and the beginning of February will hopefully help me feel much happier with the play being in theatre.”
