Rudaali director Kalpana Lajmi in ICU

'Aamir Khan, the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association, Rohit Shetty, Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, Soni Razdan, Neena Gupta... have come forward and helped me.'

Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi, who has been battling kidney cancer, was rushed to a hospital in the morning of November 6 after her conditioned worsened.

Known for films like Rudaali, Darmiyaan and Daman, the 61-year-old filmmaker was taken to a suburban hospital in Mumbai as she felt extremely weak.

"(In the) Morning my heart rate dropped and I felt uneasy. I am a kidney patient and both my kidneys are not functioning properly," Kalpana told PTI.

"It was my partner's (Bhupen Hazarika) death anniversary so I went all the way to Vashi (in Navi Mumbai) to attend a programme. That must have taken a toll on me. When I woke up next day, I felt very weak. I was then taken to the ICU," she added.

The filmmaker said that the doctors have informed her that she will be discharged in the next "24 to 48 hours". 

"I was bed-ridden two years ago. But now, I am slightly better by the grace of God. I will give myself another year-and-a-half to walk on my own without any help," she said.

Kalpana has been going for dialysis every week and is overwhelmed by the financial support she has received from the film industry.

"They all have helped me, from Aamir Khan, the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association, Rohit Shetty, Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, Soni Razdan, Neena Gupta... All of them have come forward and helped me during my worst. It is a financially draining and a lifelong process.

 I am thankful to my film fraternity for standing by me in this phase. Especially my mother, my brother and Shyam Benegal for their constant support," she added.

Kalpana's mother, the painter Lalita Lajmi, is the late filmmaker Guru Dutt's sister. Shyam Benegal is their cousin.