Amitabh Bachchan had a near-death experience while shooting for Coolie in 1982. He mistimed a jump reaction on a mock punch and severely hurt his gut. He was admitted to an ICU in Mumbai. In 1990, Amitabh Bachchan sat down for a conversation with Rajesh Khanna and said that the incident disturbed him. Rajesh, on the other hand, asked him if he felt invincible after surviving the unfortunate injury.
Amitabh Bachchan said, “Well… it disturbed me very much, but you cannot compare that incident with anything else. It was an unnatural situation. Of course, it affected me for a very long time because I didn’t know how to pay the people back. That always disturbed me. Jaya and I spent long hours trying to figure out how to return the immense love.”
Rajesh Khanna asked if it changed Amitabh in any way. “Did it make you a better human being? Did it make you more humble? Or did it make you feel a superman, knowing that you had conquered death?” he asked. Amitabh replied, “I think the people outside talked more about it than me. I haven’t had the time to really reflect on it. I haven’t really analysed that moment as Kaka would like me to. I have shut it away somewhere. Maybe when I am old and tired, I may reflect on that moment. One can only thank the people who prayed.” Amitabh Bachchan said that his family was more affected than him.
Rajesh mentioned that he was not scared of death and said, “If, on my death bed, I am asked, I shall say that I have no regrets, I have had the best of everything. So when death comes, I’ll just smile. I know that I have missed nothing, and if I am given this life again, I’ll go through it exactly the same way… A king dies a king! He might not have a following. He might be dying alone, lost in a desert but he will still be a king, whether on the throne or in exile!” Amitabh said he wouldn’t wish it even upon his ‘worst enemy’.
While Rajesh Khanna was regarded as the first superstar of Hindi cinema, Amitabh Bachchan was seen as his successor. However, both experienced a period in their careers when they had to play character roles. Amitabh said, “Eventually, you know, we are all going to end up doing character roles whether we like it or not! It’s difficult for people in India to accept me as a leading man anymore. But Kaka has been a romantic all his life, he’s romanticising even death, so perhaps he will continue to play romantic roles and one wishes him all the best. But, the fact is that I will not be able to.”
Amitabh Bachchan remains one of the most prolific superstars of Hindi cinema. He was recently seen in Kalki 2898 AD.
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