But the road to recognition was anything but easy. More than 700 auditions, mounting debts, shelved projects, films that never saw a release, Hashmi endured years of setbacks before finding his footing. Through every disappointment and uncertainty, it was his wife who remained his strongest pillar of support. Yet, as the actor revealed during an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, just when success finally came knocking, life dealt the family another devastating blow in the form of a life-threatening illness.

‘My wife is a warrior’

Hashmi credits Raj and DK’s The Family Man with changing the course of his career. The series not only became a watershed moment for India’s streaming landscape, but also brought him the widest recognition of his career. But its success unfolded alongside one of the traumatic chapters of his personal life. His wife, Nasreen, was diagnosed with oral cancer around the time he began shooting for the series in 2018. “We never imagined something like this would happen to us. And the irony is that she was diagnosed with oral cancer despite never having consumed tobacco or anything like that. When she was diagnosed, I had just started shooting for The Family Man. I was in desperate need of money, so I requested the producers to pay me my entire advance upfront. They were kind enough to do that.”

While The Family Man transformed his professional life, Hashmi says the family was simultaneously fighting a far more important battle. “The series released, and suddenly my career took off. But at the same time, we were battling cancer. Somewhere, there was a sense of peace because things on the work front had finally started falling into place, but our lives had changed completely. She has undergone five surgeries, and her face has changed entirely. Sometimes she tells me, ‘I miss my old face.’ Now the cancer has relapsed for the sixth time. It has spread near her lungs, into her bones, around her kidney. But she’s incredibly brave and responding very positively to the treatment.”

In 2018, Sharib’s wife, Nasreen, was diagnosed with oral cancer. (Photo: Instagram/Sharib Hashmi)

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‘She sold her jewellery’

Speaking about his wife, Hashmi says she has been the family’s greatest source of strength, not just through her illness, but long before it. “This journey has taught us so much. She’s a warrior; I’m nothing compared to her. She’s the one who has held all of us together. She supported me when I was struggling, and even today she’s the one who keeps us going. There was a time when she sold her jewellery and we even had to sell our flat. Not once did she question my decisions or ask why we were doing all this. She stood by me through everything. And now, even after everything she’s going through, she’s still the strongest among us. She keeps telling us, ‘Everything will be alright. Don’t worry.’”

Listening to Hashmi, one is reminded of something he had said earlier in the conversation, that participation matters more than anything. For years, he and his wife kept showing up, believing in a dream that often gave them little in return. And when success finally arrived, it came hand in hand with a devastating diagnosis. But neither of them stopped participating. Perhaps that, more than anything else, is what their story is about. Perhaps that, more than anything else, is what life is about.