A four-year-old girl was diagnosed with blood cancer at the young age of 2.5 years. Little Ryka was diagnosed in Delhi in December 2013 after which, she insisted going back to Melbourne – her place of birth.
In an open letter to Salman Khan, Ryka’s mother writes about how her little girl wanted to completely disassociate herself with India because she thought the country gave her the disease. Ryka hated anything remotely to do with India until she agreed to watch Salman Khan’s 2015 blockbuster, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo.
One day, late last year, out of the blue, we asked Ryka if it was ok with her to watch an Indian movie. We were prepared for her refusal but she surprised us by saying ok. That was the first time ever, since her diagnosis; we saw an Indian movie in November 2015.Excerpt from the letter
This is when things changed for Ryka. She fell in love with Sallu bhai and now will not stop listening to his songs and watching his movies.
Never could I have imagined that the movie would play such a role in turning around Ryka’s dislike for India.That one movie changed everything. You changed the way Ryka felt about India. She fell in love with you in the movie. Since that day, your movies, videos and songs, is all that Ryka likes to watch on her tablet.
Ryka’s mother Vandana Gulati wrote an open letter to Salman Khan requesting him to make this five-year-old’s birthday on 29 April a special one by wishing her.
Since being diagnosed with cancer, this will be her first cancer-free birthday.
Her health has tremendously improved and on 29 April, Ryka will turn 5. This will be her first cancer-free birthday since her cancer diagnosis. As a mother, I cant express how relieved and grateful I am to see my child healthy, happy and so full of life.
Read the full letter here.
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