When Amitabh Bachchan ‘nearly died’ while drinking water due to nerve illness, doctors advised to give up acting

Amitabh Bachchan Pic/Instagram

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan turned 82 on October 11. He began his career with the film 'Saat Hindustani' in 1969 and later appeared as Dr Bhaskar Banerjee in Hrishikesh Mukherjee's 'Anand' (1971), for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Prakash Mehra's action film 'Zanjeer' (1973) established Bachchan as a star to look out for in the industry and since then, he has enthralled audiences with versatile roles. However, the actor was advised to give up on acting following a health scare during ‘Shahenshah' (1988).

Amitabh Bachchan ‘nearly died' due to a nerve illness

‘Shahenshah' director Tinnu Anand, spoke to Radio Nasha where he recalled learning about Amitabh Bachchan's health scare following which the film was dropped and later revived. He said, "I kept waiting at the hotel, where he (Bachchan) arrived and said, ‘Please sit down, I have bad news for you. I have been diagnosed with a nerve illness. During the shoot when I was taking a sip of the water, it got stuck in my throat, because the message to my brain didn't go that I had to swallow it.' He then said, ‘I nearly died suffocating on it'."

Anand added, "He told me that the doctors have warned him that he may never be able to work again. I just collapsed listening to this! A few days later, Mr Khalid Mohammed wrote that he had a meeting with Amitabh, who told him, ‘Sorry, I have to give up on acting.' So, Shahenshah was dropped."

The film was finally made after Bachchan's health got better and released in 1988.

Amitabh Bachchan's work front

Meanwhile, on the work front, Amitabh Bachchan's film 'Vettaiyan' with Rajinikanth was released in theatres recently. In the film, Big B also shared screen space with Fahadh Faasil and Rana Daggubati.

In the coming months, he will also be seen alongside Deepika Padukone in the Hindi remake of 'The Intern'. In June this year, he and Deepika were seen in the futuristic film 'Kalki 2898 AD. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the post-apocalyptic film was inspired by Hindu scriptures and was set in 2898 AD. Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, and Disha Patani were also part of the film.