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Ranjini Menon is popular among the Malayali audiences as an actor, director, talk show host and a wrote. Recently she opened up about her stroke and near death experience .

While sipping coffee, it trickled down the right side of her lips. As described by Ranjini, her words began to sound odd, like a cassette being dragged. At that time, Ranjini Menon did not know what was happening to her body. Later, she understood that those were the first signs of a stroke. Sharing that memory now, she says, “While I was sipping coffee, it suddenly trickled down the right side of my lips. My speech began to feel strange—like a cassette being dragged. At that moment, I didn’t realise it, but those were the first signs of the stroke that would change my life.”

The day it happened

As reported by Manorama Online, that day was November 18, 2024. Ranjini was getting ready to host the ‘Imperma’ lecture series at TDM Hall in Ernakulam. Before leaving with her husband Rajagopalan, she decided to have coffee. Her son Adityan noticed something and joked, “Why are you talking like that, Amma?” She ignored it and got into the car.

Something felt wrong, but she went on

On the way, she tried talking to her husband. The words were not clear. Rajagopal felt something was wrong and suggested stopping at a nearby hospital. Ranjini did not agree. She wanted to reach the programme on time. Ranjini says she also felt that something was not right, but still chose to go ahead.

She tried to message her son and her younger uncle to come quickly. Even typing on the phone was hard. The letters got mixed up. By the time she reached the hall, her condition had worsened. A colleague noticed her struggle. Her speech had changed a lot. Thinking it was low sugar, they gave her sugar water. “The moment I drank it, I collapsed,” Ranjini says.

ICU days and lessons of life

Doctors later told her that she had suffered a major heart attack along with a stroke. She was rushed to Renai Medicity. Ranjini remembers thinking those were her last moments. Tests showed a blood clot in her brain stem. The right side of her body became weak. Her face tilted to one side. Some memories faded.

She spent days in the ICU, moving in and out of consciousness. “Even one day in the ICU is enough to teach you the true value of life,” she says. She longed for sunlight and even a sip of plain water. Everything she thought she knew about life felt small then.

To check if her memory was still there, she kept reciting Lalitha Sahasranamam and Vishnu Sahasranamam. Doctors said she could go home once her blood pressure dropped from 195 to 130. She wanted it badly. She kept telling her mind it would happen. Four hours later, it came down to 135.

Walking back to life

After four days, she was shifted to a room. When Ranjini was discharged, she went straight to TDM Hall in a wheelchair. Later, she stayed for a month at Ochira Tapasya Ayurveda Hospital. Those days, she learned to walk again, like a small child taking first steps. Friends sat with her for hours and sang her favourite songs.

Today, Ranjini says she is full of gratitude. She says she now bows to the force that connects everything in the universe. She stopped being proud of multitasking.

The actor learned that running without caring for oneself is not right. Her daughter became her closest friend. She truly understood that health is wealth.

Ranjini is now returning strongly to the shows she loves and to women empowerment work. When director Vipin Atley recently asked her, “Can you run, chechi?” she replied, “Why the doubt? What’s past is past, isn’t it?”