For filmmaker Sudhir Mishra the news of Manisha Koirala’s illness was a painful reminder of the past when his wife Renu Saluja had succumbed to cancer. Manisha is not only an actress that Sudhir worked with in the film Calcutta Mail some years ago, she was and remains a close friend. Says a friend of the filmmaker, “Sudhir is very close to Manisha and her best-friend Deepti Naval. After Renu’s loss he is petrified of losing people close to him. In fact Sudhir shies away from emotional proximity to anyone. There is the fear, common to those who have lost dear ones, of being betrayed by death.” Apparently the news of Manisha’s condition disturbed Sudhir greatly. He recommended a a very well-known doctor to Manisha, the same one who had treated Sudhir’s wife Renu when she fell ill. Says the friend, “When Manisha heard of the nature of her illness he instantly recalled the doctor who had treated Renu. Sudhir called up Manisha’s close friend filmmaker Shrinivas Bhashyam who has been by her side all through the illness, and gave the name of the doctor who had been with Renu during her illness. Of course Manisha has now gone to the US for surgery. But for Sudhir her illness was a reminder of the times that he would rather forget, but can’t.”