Naagin 7 star Alice Kaushik diagnosed with typhoid, jaundice.
Naagin 7 actress Alice Kaushik diagnosed with typhoid and jaundice, doctors advise rest and treatment.
The lights on the set of Naagin 7 in Mumbai’s Film City blazed as they always do, but on a particularly hectic shooting day ten days ago, one of their brightest stars was dimming without anyone realizing it.
Alice Kaushik, who brings to life the character of Icchadhari Naagin Bharani, was going through the motions of another intense shooting schedule. The elaborate costumes, the dramatic sequences, the late-night shoots—all part of the territory when you’re the second lead in one of television’s most successful franchises. But something was wrong.
She felt it in the mornings, when waking up became a battle. She felt it during breaks, when even her favorite chai from the set canteen tasted strange. She felt it in her muscles, in her bones, in the fog that seemed to settle over her thoughts.
“I was unaware that I had typhoid and jaundice while I was shooting until it became too late,” Alice would later reveal to a publication, her words carrying the exhaustion of someone who had pushed through pain for too long. “I believed I was simply unwell.”
On the sets, her co-stars noticed she seemed quieter than usual. Priyanka Chahar Choudhary, who plays the lead Naagin Ahana, would check on her between shots. “Just tired,” Alice would smile, waving away concern. “You know how it is.”
Everyone knew how it was. In the high-pressure world of daily soaps, where episodes must air every single night regardless of personal crises, taking time off feels like letting down hundreds of people—the cast, the crew, the millions of viewers who have made Naagin 7 a part of their evening routine.
So Alice kept going. Through the fatigue. Through the nausea. Through the growing weakness that made the heavy Naagin costumes feel like they weighed a thousand pounds.
It happened during a particularly demanding sequence. Alice was supposed to deliver powerful dialogues, her character Bharani confronting an adversary. But when the director called “action,” the words wouldn’t come. She swayed slightly. A crew member rushed forward.
The on-set doctor was called immediately. Tests were ordered. The results came back, and the diagnosis hit like a thunderbolt: typhoid and jaundice. Two serious illnesses that had been silently devastating her system while she chalked it up to exhaustion.
But in an industry often criticized for its ruthlessness, something unexpected happened. The team rallied around her.
Shooting schedules were adjusted. Scenes were rearranged to minimize her physical strain. Co-stars brought her homemade food, remembering what their mothers had told them about what to eat during jaundice. The production house, Balaji Telefilms, ensured she had access to the best medical care.
“They provided care,” Alice said simply, and in those three words lay a story of human decency in an often-dehumanizing business.
As news of her illness spread, fans took to social media. #GetWellSoonAlice trended briefly. Young girls who watched Naagin 7 faithfully posted messages, drawings, videos. For them, Alice wasn’t just an actress playing a shape-shifting serpent—she was an inspiration, a presence in their living rooms every night.
In her Bandra apartment, Alice now spends her days in recovery. The process is slow, she admits. Typhoid and jaundice together don’t heal quickly. But she has company. Her family has flown in from Delhi. Her mother makes khichdi, the bland comfort food of convalescence, and insists she rest. Her younger sister reads her fan messages aloud, making her laugh at the most dramatic ones.
Meanwhile, on the sets of Naagin 7, life continues. The writers are crafting a powerful storyline for Bharani, her character set to get a romantic interest—an Icchadhari Naag. Interestingly, the actor reportedly cast for this role is Kshitij Dholakia, son of veteran actress Urvashi Dholakia, making his acting debut after working as an assistant director on films like Humshakals and Dream Girl.
There are whispers too about Rithvik Dhanjani and Vivek Dahiya possibly joining the cast, though official confirmation remains pending.
But for now, Alice’s chair on the set remains empty. Her costumes hang ready in her vanity van. The team waits, not impatiently, but with genuine concern.
A spot boy who has worked on the show since its first season put it simply: “Bharani ji ko jaldi theek hona hai. Set adhoora hai unke bina.” (Bharani needs to get well soon. The set feels incomplete without her.)
In an entertainment industry often reduced to ratings and TRPs, to glamour and gossip, there exists this quieter truth: that at its heart, it’s still about people. People who get sick. People who need rest. People who, despite the pressures of producing 52 episodes a year, find moments of genuine humanity.
Alice Kaushik is recovering. Slowly, she says, but surely. And when she returns to the set—to the heavy costumes, the dramatic sequences, the late-night shoots—there will be a small celebration. Chai will be ordered. Laughter will fill the makeup room. And Bharani, the shape-shifting Naagin, will once again come alive.
But for now, in a quiet apartment in Bandra, a young actress is learning what her body had been trying to tell her for weeks: that even Naagins need to rest.