Lisa Ray will play Kabir Bedi's daughter in her first acting assignment after being treated for multiple myeloma

Thirty eight year-old Indo-Canadian actor Lisa Ray, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, is ready for her first acting assignment after recovery. Ray will act in play called Taj, which will be staged in Toronto on June 10, alongside Kabir Bedi.

Bedi, who returns to the stage after a hiatus of seven years, will play Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, while Ray will play his daughter, Jahan Ara.

Ray, who was in the city this March to promote stem cell therapy and research, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the white blood cells that affects the bone marrow. However, in April last year, Ray announced she was cancer-free, following radical stem cell therapy treatment. Ray expressed her happiness about returning to acting.

"I can't wait! It's going to be a thrill and honour to work with Kabir, Lata Pada (the producer) and Tom Diamond, the director. I was compelled to be a part of a project which celebrates love and examines loss, " she said. Meanwhile, Bedi is hopeful that his second coming as the king will turn out more successful than the previous one.

"I had played Shah Jehan in Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal. It suffered because of inept marketing. Hopefully this time, a lot more people will see me as Shah Jahan. I've seen other stage productions by director Tom Diamond and they are spectacular, " he said.

"I knew Lisa from her early days in Bollywood. I was with Nikki Bedi (former partner) then, and Lisa and Nikki knew each other. After that, Lisa and I got busy with our own thing. We didn't meet until now. It's interesting that we're getting together on stage as father and daughter, " added Bedi.

Ray also expressed her dismay over rumours that she was marrying her former long-time partner designer Paolo Zimbaldi. "The news came as a big shock. It's completely untrue.

This kind of inaccurate news jeopardises my chances of a new relationship. So please, I request journalists in India not to marry me off to someone I haven't seen in years. Perhaps they can help me connect with my soulmate? The message is, come get me, I'm ready!"

Other celebs who've battled cancer

Sheryl Crow, Kylie Minogue and Christina Applegate have overcome breast cancer successfully in the recent past. Michael Douglas was diagnosed with throat cancer last year, but has been tumour-free since January.

Yves Saint Laurent died of brain cancer in 2008. Eva Peron, Argentina's first lady on whom the musical Evita is based, died of cervical cancer at the young age of 33. Walt Disney died of lung cancer at the age of 65, after smoking for over 40 years.