MUMBAI, 10 AUG

A year after Indian TV star Hina Khan announced her breast cancer diagnosis, she says she can sense that people from the industry are still hesitant to work with her.

The actor said that work took a backseat after she fell ill, and she had to turn down many offers. She is now back on the small screen with 'Pati Patni Aur Panga'

“This is my first project after the whole thing (breast cancer diagnosis) happened. I want to work. No one has directly said to me, ‘You’ve still not recovered completely,’ but I can sense that maybe people are hesitant (to work with me) for all the right reasons.

"It’s okay. I’ll have to break that norm. Maybe the show will do it, I understand it. Had I been in their place, I would’ve thought about it a thousand times. I’m open to auditions. Where did I stop? No one has called me for the last year for any reason. I’m open to everything, please call me,” Khan told PTI in an interview.

The 37-year-old actor has been battling stage three breast cancer. She shared her diagnosis in June of 2024 and has been updating her fans regarding her health via social media.

Khan, known for shows such as 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai', 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2', 'Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 8' and 'Bigg Boss 11', said she feels glad to have made a comeback to work with her ongoing reality show, which is currently on air on Colors Channel.

The show features fan-favourite celebrity couples, including Hina Khan-Rocky Jaiswal, Debinna Bonnerjee-Gurmeet Choudhary, Rubina Dilaik-Abhinav Shukla, Avika Gor-Milind Chandwani, Swara Bhasker-Fahad Ahmad, Geeta Phogat-Pawan Kumar, and Sudesh Lehri-Mamta Lehri.

The show stars celebrity couples competing against each other as they open their hearts and homes to take on fun challenges.

“It was a big step for me to take up the show, and it was an experiment as far as my health is concerned, like whether I’ll be able to do it or not. So far, so good. I get tired a bit, but apart from that, everything is fine. I’m ready to take up anything, be it a digital show or anything, but I would not take up a long-term commitment. If anything is offered (in films), if they find me worthy enough, then why not,” Khan said.

The actor said she is keen to play a spy agent.

“I want to be part of the spy universe, be it in OTT or films. I was watching a show, ‘Special Ops’, I so wanted to play a spy, manifesting it,” Khan said.