But the man is in good spirits as he heads into surgery to battle it out, shared his son, Hrithik Roshan on social media

08 Jan, 2019

Veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan has been diagnosed with early stage throat cancer.

The troubling news was confirmed by his son, Hrithik in a heartfelt Instagram post:

The caption read: “Asked my dad for a picture this morning. Knew he wouldn't miss gym on surgery day. He is probably the strongest man I know. Got diagnosed with early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the throat a few weeks ago, but he is in full spirits today as he proceeds to battle it. As a family, we are fortunate and blessed to have a leader like him. Love you Dad.”

View this post on Instagram

Asked my dad for a picture this morning. Knew he wouldnt miss gym on surgery day. He is probably the strongest man I know. Got diagnosed with early stage squamous cell carcinoma of the throat a few weeks ago, but he is in full spirits today as he proceeds to battle it. As a family we are fortunate and blessed to have a leader like him. . Love you Dad.

A post shared by Hrithik Roshan (@hrithikroshan) on Jan 7, 2019 at 7:46pm PST

Rakesh started his career as an actor but eventually gravitated more towards directing. He launched Hrithik with his 2000 film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and the father-son duo have also worked together in Koi Mil Gaya and the Krrish series. Rakesh last produced Kaabil starring Hrithik Roshan and his next project is Krrish 4, again with Hrithik.