From battling a life-threatening disease to being labeled a gold digger, how Sushmita Sen braved it all

Sushmita Sen turns 47 today. Here’s a woman who had the balls to lead the life she wanted to, unabashed, unapologetic, unfazed. She was the free bird in a world caged by disdain and shackled by inconsequential disgust. For all the glory that came her way when she made history in 1994 for being India’s first Miss Universe, she couldn’t escape the captious gazes the world of glamour and outside is filled with. She could neither escape the sheer unforgiving nature of life that can throw you into the deepest of waters and barely allow you to plead for life. She survived, sustained, and succeeded, all on her own.The life-threatening diseaseShe was nearly scarred for life physically when she went through the most traumatic phase between 2015-2020. She was diagnosed with Addison's disease. Speaking about it to Vogue during the release of her show Aarya, she poured her heart out. “The reason I am also excited [to be back] is that all through the last ten years, out of which five were lovely… watching my little one grow up and being there a hundred per cent… after that, the last five years were pretty traumatising. They took me to the darkest of places that I had never been to before,” revealed the former Miss Universe.For the uninitiated, Addison's disease is an illness that occurs due to the lack of hormone production from the adrenal glands, resulting in nausea, fatigue, dizziness and in some cases, low blood pressure.The gold-digger tagIn the last 25 years, Sen has been in multiple relationships. Her first relationship that came into spotlight was with filmmaker Vikram Bhatt. The two even made an appearance in 1997 on Simi Garewal’s show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal. The couple worked together on Mahesh Bhatt’a Dastak in 1996, which marked her debut in Hindi Cinema. In these many years, the actress has been involved with names like Wasim Akram, Sabeer Bhatia, Anil Ambani, Randeep Hooda, Mudassar Aziz, and Rohman Shawl.When Lalit Modi, known as the primo supremo, posted a picture with Sen and announced the two were in love or discovered love, social media went bonkers. There was palpable excitement, shock, despair, and fury. All emotions began floating in the form of nasty, nauseous comments as if they owned the two. The actress was even labeled as a gold digger. When voices get deafening, silence may not be the most powerful weapon, words take over.Sen posted a picture on Instagram and announced to all the party poopers who she dug more than gold. She wrote- “The friends I never had & the acquaintances I’ve never met….all sharing their grand opinions & deep knowledge of my life & character…monetising the ‘Gold Digger’ all the way!!! Ah these geniuses!!! I dig deeper than Gold…and I’ve always (famously) preferred Diamonds!! And yes I still buy them myself.”In fact, Vikram Bhatt, during the promotions of his film Judaa Hoke Bhi, stood by Sen and said, “Sushmita is a love digger, not a gold digger. I think making fun of other people's life is entertainment. Someone’s tragedy is someone’s entertainment, that’s always there. When Kareena [Kapoor] married Saif [Ali Khan], even she was trolled. So, I think it goes with the territory, if you are a celebrity and if there is a decision of yours which seems funny to netizens, they start trolling.”Bhatt even uninhibitedly opened a page of his life that had Sen’s name on it and narrated an incident when they were together. “Sushmita is the last person who checks out bank balances before she decides to fall in love with someone. I was penniless. I was directing Ghulam, but I had no money. I will not forget that Sushmita was the person who first took me to the US, and she paid for my trip. I had no money. When we reached Los Angeles and there was a limousine, and I was surprised. She said that she wanted to make my entry in the US very special.”A sincere question- Possible to have a heart of gold and yet be a gold digger?Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.