Amitabh Bachchan reflects on ‘Coolie’ shoot injury

The story revolves around his separation from his mother Salma (Waheeda Rehman) due to Zafar's (Kadar Khan) unhealthy fixation, leading to tragic consequences for Salma and her family.

New Delhi: Expressing heartfelt gratitude to his well-wishers and fans, megastar Amitabh Bachchan said he is forever grateful to them for praying for his health and recovery when he suffered an injury during the shoot of ‘Coolie’.

The 1983 action comedy film ‘Coolie’ is directed by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan as Iqbal Aslam Khan, a railway coolie, who was separated from his mother Salma (Waheeda Rehman) due to Zafar’s (Kadar Khan) obsession with her that causes the destruction of her family and her mental breakdown.

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Years later, fate unites her sons, Iqbal and Sunny (Rishi Kapoor) and they set out to save Salma from Zafar’s captivity. It also stars Rati Agnihotri, Shoma Anand, Suresh Oberoi and Puneet Issar.

The film is known for a fight scene with Puneet, during which Bachchan had a near-fatal injury due to a miscalculated jump. In the episode 28 of the quiz-based reality show ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ season 15, host Amitabh Bachchan welcomed Jasnil Kumar from Anwak, Uttar Pradesh to the hot seat.

The contestant said: “Sir, I’d like to share something, In Ujjain, and at Kashi Vishwanath temple in Benaras, there are rituals conducted. When India is in the World Cup finals, or when there’s an India-Pakistan match; also, when the greatest actor of the century falls sick. We conduct rituals. This is the truth.”

Replying to him, Amitabh said: “Thank you very much. I will always be grateful, When I got hurt in 1982 during the shoot of ‘Coolie’, people prayed for my health and recovery, I can never forget that. It’s something lowe to my well-wishers.”

“I can never repay that debt I believe so. I’m here because of their wishes and prayers,” he added.