As actor-politician Kangana Ranaut gears up for her upcoming film Bharat Bhagya Vidhata, which is inspired by the heroic events that unfolded at Mumbai’s Cama Hospital during the 26/11 terror attacks, one real-life story continues to stand out as a powerful reminder of courage, duty, and humanity. The film reportedly highlights the extraordinary bravery of doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who protected patients amid one of India’s darkest nights. Among them was nurse Anjali Kulthe, whose remarkable actions helped save lives when fear and chaos had engulfed the city.
On the night of November 26, 2008, Anjali Kulthe reported for what was supposed to be a routine night shift at Mumbai’s Cama and Albless Hospital. Under her care were 20 pregnant women. Nothing seemed unusual until she looked out of a window. What she saw sent a chill down her spine. Two heavily armed terrorists had entered the hospital campus and shot the watchmen. Within minutes, a place meant for healing transformed into a battlefield. As panic spread through the wards, Anjali sprang into action. She quickly shut the ward doors and began moving frightened patients to safer areas of the hospital. Outside, gunshots echoed. Grenades exploded. Terror had arrived at their doorstep.
Delivering life amid death
As the attacks intensified, Anjali faced an unimaginable challenge. One of the pregnant women under her care suddenly went into labour. There was no time to wait. Delaying the delivery could have endangered both the mother and her unborn child. Yet reaching the labour room meant navigating a hospital under siege. The elevators were unsafe. Gunfire rang through the corridors. Grenades shook the building. But Anjali refused to let fear dictate her actions.
Holding the frightened mother’s hand, she carefully guided her up the staircase. Every step carried risk. Bullets could strike at any moment. “My concern was that the woman and baby should be safe,” she later recalled.
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Finally, they reached the labour room. The patient was handed over to the doctors, and a healthy baby boy was brought into the world. Then, instead of resting, Anjali returned to be with the rest of her patients. By sunrise, all 20 pregnant women under her care had survived.
“I was driven by passion. Ek junoon tha. I didn’t want to die without helping people. The power of the uniform made me do all this”, she told Nation Next.
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The power of a uniform
Looking back, Anjali says she never allowed herself to think about her own safety. “I was thinking that the bullets could hit me, but nothing should happen to the patient.” She believes it was her nursing uniform that gave her strength. “This was the power of my uniform,” she said during an interview with Mojo Story. “It made me think not about myself, but about my patients.” That sense of duty had deep roots.
Anjali often credits her father as her greatest inspiration. In 1979, during a major fire at Santa Cruz Airport, he reportedly remained at his post in the control tower while others evacuated. Knowing that two aircraft were preparing to land, he stayed behind long enough to guide them safely before leaving the tower himself. His example stayed with her.
‘I wasn’t scared’
When asked whether she felt fear that night, Anjali’s answer surprised many: “I wasn’t scared at all.” She recalled arriving for her 12-hour shift at 8 PM and later receiving instructions to prepare for emergency situations. The moment she heard gunshots, her instinct was not to run. It was to protect her patients.
“I first asked my patients to switch off their phones and assured them that they were safe as long as I was with them.” One patient suffering from hypertension went into labour, making the situation even more critical. “I didn’t know how to handle everything. But I knew it was important to shift her.”
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Standing up to Ajmal Kasab
Weeks after the attacks, Anjali was called upon once again to serve her country. She was asked to identify Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist captured alive. Her family was terrified and urged her not to go. Yet Anjali believed someone had to step forward. Standing face-to-face with the man responsible for unimaginable bloodshed, she identified him without hesitation. “He laughed and said, ‘Madam, you identified me just right. I am indeed Ajmal Kasab.’”
The encounter shook her—not because she was scared, but because she saw how young he was and how little remorse he seemed to feel. “My parents cried and stopped me from going. But I told them someone has to take a step forward for the country.”
For her courage, Anjali was later honoured with a medal for bravery.
The scars that remain
Nearly two decades later, the memories still linger. “Even today, when I hear the sound of crackers, I suddenly go back to the night of 26/11.” The attacks claimed 166 lives and injured more than 300 people, making them one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Indian history.
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But amid the tragedy emerged stories of extraordinary courage—stories of ordinary people who became heroes when their country needed them most. Anjali Kulthe’s story is one such example. On one of India’s darkest nights, Anjali Kulthe proved that courage is not the absence of fear—it is the decision to put others before yourself, no matter the cost.
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