'I was in comma with ruptured intestine, they felt it's all over': Amitabh Bachchan about Coolie accident (Throwback)

Amitabh Bachchan has not just been the biggest star onscreen but off-screen too, the actor's life has been all about triumph over difficulties. From being rejected from the industry, going bankrupt and bouncing back from it, failed political aspirations to battling fatal accident and health issues, the Shehenshah of Bollywood has been through it all, seen it all.

It had all happened after the Coolie accident where after being punched by Puneet Issar, Amitabh Bachchan misjudged the jump and ended up jumping at the edge of the table which pierced through his intestines. The actor fought hard for his life and underwent several emergency operations. However, it was at one point that the actor was declared 'clinically dead'.

Amitabh spills the beans

Talking about the accident, Bachchan had told Simi Garewal, "I was in comma. I had ruptured my intestine at the accident on the set. And then there was the surgery which was conducted almost as an emergency. We went to Bombay 5 days later, the sutures ruptured, and I had to have another surgery. It was end of that surgery where I couldn't come out of anaesthesia for 12-14 hours. That's when they felt it's all over because there was hardly any pulse, BP was down to almost zero."

Amitabh's changed appearance

When the actor recovered and the doctor's tried making him walk, the actor said, it was another fight for him. "That was a devastating time for me because of the first time they put me on my feet to get me walking, my legs crumbled and I fell on the floor. I felt that I had lost my power. I had to learn to walk again. It's like teaching a child how to walk again. And the repair work after you leave the hospital because you are not the same person and you're never going to be the same person again. You have lost almost 75% of your body. Your face doesn't look the same, your hair doesn't look the same."

On having no choice but to realize that all he could do was fight, Bachchan had said, "Not really panic. It was realisation that fine this has happened to me and either I succumb to it or I keep trying. I chose to keep trying."