When 'Issar Ka Punch-Nama' Posed Threat To Amitabh Bachchan's Life And 'Duryodhan' Saved A Promising Career

Amitabh Bachchan Accident: Throughout his career, which spans over five decades, Amitabh Bachchan has played countless characters. But nobody can ever forget his 1983 movie Coolie, which was released on December 2, 1983, 40 years ago. The infamous disaster that occurred on the movie set and nearly placed Big B on his deathbed is also a contributing factor, in addition to the movie's commercial success. The accident, in fact, sent the entire nation into a panic and frenzy. All of this happened during an action scene when Amitabh confronted Puneet Issar, who played an antagonist in the movie Coolie. However, due to miscalculations on the part of both actors, Puneet delivered a punch to Big B's stomach that was so powerful that it seriously hurt the actor.

The Unfortunate Incident

Amitabh Bachchan nearly lost his life while filming a fight scene with co-star Puneet Issar at Bangalore University on July 26, 1982. This injury made the movie famous even before it was released. Bachchan jumped awkwardly during the battle sequence, missing the opportunity to land on a table. This resulted in an internal abdominal injury. He was transferred to a Mumbai hospital, where, according to media reports, he went into a 'haze and coma-like situation', and was 'clinically dead for a couple of minutes'. Due to the damage and internal bleeding, doctors at the time were unsure he would survive, and the entire nation virtually came to a stop in prayer for the recovery of the biggest star in Hindi cinema.

Aftermath Of Accident

There were reports of widespread sadness while he was in the hospital, and many Indians both at home and abroad offered prayers. Rajiv Gandhi reportedly postponed a trip to the US in order to be with him. From 200 donors, one of whom had the Hepatitis B virus, Bachchan received 60 bottles of blood. Bachchan bounced back from the mishap, miraculously recovered from the serious injury and started filming again on January 7, 1983. But in 2000 he learned that the virus had caused cirrhosis of the liver, which had damaged around 75% of his liver. Later, Bachchan came out about his experience promoting the Hepatitis B vaccine.

Negative Impact

Being his first film, this incident made Puneet feel guilty, but Big B encouraged him to calm down, and they started filming. His health deteriorated the following day, forcing him to be hospitalized, where he underwent surgery 72 hours after the tragedy. Amitabh Bachchan's condition had gotten worse with each hour that went by, and he had dropped 40 kg. Even though the incident shocked everyone and painted Puneet in everyone's eyes as a real-life monster, Big B held no ill feelings towards him. In an interview, Puneet revealed that Mr. Bachchan had told him not to worry because it was not his fault when he and his wife visited him in the hospital. According to Puneet, Bachchan wrapped his arm around him and led the way to the gate. As per reports, Puneet Issar's wife also gave blood for Amitabh.

Puneet was blasted by the media and Amitabh's supporters over the haunted episode, and thus, even though Coolie was a superhit, it didn't help him. Additionally, it had an effect on his career because he was almost unemployed for 6-7 years following the event, and the public was quite hostile towards him. In the following years, he continued to work in B-Grade films like Chandaal, Superman, and Purana Mandir. Nevertheless, he was successful in landing the part of "Duryodhan" in the Mahabharata television series by B.R. Chopra. He was initially brought in to play Bhim, but he was eager to play Duryodhan. He won the part after memorizing Duryodhan's lines of dialogue. The rest is now history.