She turned one of life’s toughest battles into a story filled with laughter and hope. Through ‘Breast of Luck’, Tannishtha Chatterjee is proving that awareness can be powerful without losing the joy of storytelling.
Photo: Special Arrangement
Tannishtha Chatterjee has been battling stage 4 oligometastatic cancer since January last year. Somewhere in the middle of chemo sessions, she got an idea. That idea became ‘Breast of Luck,’ a play she’s now touring across India with actor Sharib Hashmi.
Speaking to The Statesman, Tannishtha called it a shared story. She’s a survivor. Sharib is a caregiver, since his wife has also survived cancer. Two real experiences, one stage.
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“I called him during my chemo,” she said, explaining how the collaboration began. “We are artists, and we love storytelling.” From that phone call came writing sessions, meetings, and eventually a full production.
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Both Tannishtha and Sharib share a love for music, and it shows in the play. Humour, she says, is simply how they get through life. “We have to take everything with a pinch of salt,” she said. “Even the fittest person dies of heart attack.” Life doesn’t ask permission before throwing a curveball.
After she started writing the play, people began reaching out to her. Some had survived cancer themselves. Others had lost someone to it. Everyone, she realised, carries a story worth telling.
‘Breast of Luck’ premiered in Bombay last year. Since then, it has travelled to Lucknow, Bhopal, and Indore, with Delhi next on the list. Running just under two hours, the play mixes music and comedy to unpack the many sides of facing a life-threatening illness. It’s billed as a musical comedy, not a tragedy.
Tannishtha hasn’t stopped at theatre. She’s teamed up with her oncologist and Vernitafilms to spread awareness about early detection. Her own diagnosis came late, and she wants people to know that no lifestyle guarantees safety.
“You are eating healthy, family history is fine, you exercise regularly,” she said, “but still nobody can predict what your body has in store for you.” The idea that fit, careful people are somehow immune, she says, is simply not true.
While writing the play, she learned two of her friends had also been diagnosed. It reinforced what she now says often: early detection saves lives.
What started as just a play has grown into something bigger. The response, she says, has been overwhelming. It’s now a full campaign, run through the medium she understands best, acting and storytelling.
Ask her why people should watch the play, and she keeps it simple. It’s an entertaining romcom, with strong performances, humour, drama, and live music. It doesn’t preach. If emotion is your thing, she says, come watch.
She also points out a gap that still exists. Women’s health, especially around breast cancer, remains neglected in conversation. Treatments have improved over the years, but the stigma hasn’t gone anywhere. “It’s a part of our body, and we still shy away from speaking it out loud,” she said. The play tries to chip away at that silence too.
On screen, Tannishtha has had a big year too. Her second directorial film, ‘Full Plate’, had its world premiere at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in September 2025. It won her the Visionary Director award.
She’s now planning to release the film alongside the play’s tour. “It’s my baby,” she said. “I finished the post-production during my chemo.” When asked about the challenges of making indie films, a question she’s clearly answered many times before, she called it genuinely tough, though the investment required isn’t huge.
Looking ahead, Tannishtha is writing a few new projects and has some acting offers on the table. Her treatment is still ongoing, and for now, her calendar revolves around it.
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