Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Veteran fight director Pappu Verma has recalled the day Amitabh Bachchan was injured on the sets of Coolie in 1982, revealing that another accident had taken place earlier that day. In a conversation with YouTuber Rajeev Chaudhari, Verma said a stuntman was injured during a fight sequence with Puneet Issar before Issar’s punch left Bachchan seriously hurt.
Verma, who worked as the action director on Manmohan Desai’s film, said the first accident involved a stuntman named Shakti, who was hit during a fight sequence. He recalled that the stuntman suffered an eye injury and needed stitches.
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“Pehla accident tha Shakti, hamara ek stuntman. Usko punch laga toh uski aankh phat gayi. Usko do taanke aaye (The first accident involved Shakti, one of our stuntmen. He was punched, suffered an injury to his eye and needed two stitches),” Verma said.
Verma then recalled the sequence involving Amitabh and Puneet, who was making his acting debut with Coolie. He said the incident happened during their solo fight sequence, when Puneet’s punch landed on Amitabh.
“Shaam ko humne jab action shuru kiya Puneet ka aur Amit ji ka, toh wahan pe woh solo fight thi. Usmein direct Puneet ka punch Amit ji ko yahan pe, unki arteries pe laga (When we began shooting the action sequence between Puneet and Amitabh in the evening, there was a solo fight. During that sequence, Puneet’s punch landed directly on Amitabh’s arteries),” said the veteran fight director.
According to Verma, the team had to find a way to explain the injury without affecting Puneet’s career. He said the next shot involved Amitabh going over a table, and the team used that part of the sequence to explain what had happened.
“Uske baad next shot tha ki table ke upar se jaana tha. Toh humko us waqt ek kahani banani padi ki bhai table se gaye toh lag gaya unko, kyunki Puneet ke career ka bhi sawaal tha (The next shot required Amitabh to go over a table. At the time, we had to create an explanation that he got injured while going over the table, because Puneet’s career was also at stake),” Verma said.
Verma recalled that the team was concerned about the actor being associated with an incident in which a major star was injured during his debut film.
“Pehli film mein isne itne bade superstar ko maar diya (He had injured such a big superstar in his very first film),” he said.
Verma added that director Manmohan Desai had asked everyone not to discuss the actual circumstances of the incident. However, details eventually emerged in media reports.
‘No punches to the stomach after the accident’
Verma also recalled the precautions taken when shooting resumed after Amitabh recovered. The actor spent several months in hospital following the accident.
“Coolie ke accident ke baad humne, matlab Manmohan ji ne categorically bola hai ki bhai, pet pe toh punch hoga hi nahi (After the Coolie accident, Manmohan Desai made it absolutely clear that there would be no punches to the stomach),” Verma said.
He said filming resumed only after Amitabh had recovered. Desai arranged for a set to be built at Chandiwali, where the team continued shooting the action sequences.
“6 mahine Amit ji hospital mein the. Aaye, achhe hue, uske baad hi resumed (Amitabh spent six months in hospital. He returned after recovering, and only then did we resume shooting),” Verma said.
Amitabh Bachchan was seriously injured while filming Coolie in Bengaluru in 1982. The accident occurred during a fight sequence with Puneet Issar and became one of the most widely remembered incidents in the actor’s career.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
