Tannaz Irani, the talented actress known for her debut in Hrithik Roshan’s 2000 film Kaho Na…Pyaar Hai, recently shared the deeply personal experience of a health crisis she faced in 2021. In a candid conversation on the Inner Habit podcast, Tannaz discussed the challenges she endured during a difficult time in her life, when she found herself wheelchair-bound and struggling with severe physical issues.
Tannaz Irani’s Start of the Struggle
In 2021, Tannaz Irani began to experience severe difficulty walking. Initially, she attributed the problem to either gaining weight or facing a temporary issue with her hip. “I kept thinking ‘What’s wrong with this hip?’ I just couldn’t get the better of it,” she explained. As her condition worsened, she decided to join an MMA program, hoping it would help. However, the physical training only worsened the situation, increasing the pain and severity of her problem.
Tannaz’s health issues led her to seek medical help. She first considered the possibility that her spine was the root cause and underwent treatment for it. After three months of treatment, her back improved, but the leg problem persisted. She was unable to put weight on her leg and began limping. This led her to undergo more tests, including MRIs, which revealed that her knees were also giving way due to the odd movements she had been making. At this point, her entire body had been affected: her ankles, knees, and back.
Irani’s Decision to Undergo Surgery
Despite her ongoing health struggles, Tannaz went on a vacation with friends, hoping for a break. However, her friends failed to understand the severity of her condition, and she ended up spending much of the time in a wheelchair. “Every time we went out in the evening, I would just crawl back to my room with such severe pain. I was always on painkillers,” she shared. Tannaz also explored various healing methods, including chanting, but nothing seemed to provide relief.
After enduring months of intense pain, Tannaz made the decision to undergo hip replacement surgery. However, the recovery process was not without its emotional struggles. On the very first day after the surgery, when the doctors helped her stand, Tannaz was shocked to discover that one leg was longer than the other. “I realised that one leg was longer than the other, and I completely freaked out. I screamed, not out loud, but from the bottom of my heart. I just couldn’t believe, for my entire life, I have to walk like this,” she recalled. The emotional toll of this realization was overwhelming, and she admitted, “I didn’t even want to live anymore.”
Finding Strength and Moving Forward
In the face of this challenge, Tannaz chose not to fight her reality but to focus on how she could improve the situation. She described the process of coming to terms with the new reality, ultimately feeling gratitude for the ability to walk again, even if it wasn’t exactly as before.
Her doctor, understanding her age and need for mobility, provided a solution: a larger implant. This adjustment helped correct the discrepancy in her leg length. “Because I was a younger patient, my doctor gave me a bigger implant, a couple of millimeters more, so I could be more energetic and mobile,” Tannaz explained. The new implant gave her a renewed sense of energy, and within a month, she was back on a plane, flying to Delhi to give a talk.
Tannaz Irani’s Successful Recovery
Today, Tannaz is doing well. Her recovery has been successful, and her journey through pain and uncertainty has transformed into one of resilience. While the experience was difficult, it has left her with a newfound appreciation for life and the strength to keep moving forward, no matter the obstacles.
