'Roja' actor Arvind Swami reveals he was bedridden for a couple of years due to partial paralysis

Arvind Swami Pic/Instagram

Veteran Tamil actor Arvind Swami debuted with Mani Ratnam in the blockbuster ‘Thalapathi' (1991) and starred in successful films such as ‘Roja' and ‘Bombay'. He did nearly one to two films in a year but went off the grid after 'Alaipayuthey' (2000) which featured him in a cameo. The actor revealed that it was because of his spinal injury that left him bedridden during that time.

Arvind Swami on his partial paralysis that left him bedridden

In an interview with Gulf News, Arvind said, "I didn't do a film for 13 years, and I wasn't planning on making a comeback. It was just an opportunity provided by Mani Ratnam sir, and when people think you can't do it, you take it up as a challenge. Not in a negative way, but between my cameo in Alaipayuthey and Kadal, a lot had happened. The most relevant thing was that I had a spinal injury, and I was in bed for a couple of years. I had partial paralysis in my leg."

Arvind Swami recalls being in excruciating pain

Arvind Swami was recently seen in the Anubhav Sinha-directed web series ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack'. He played the role of DRS, Secretary of Minister of External Affairs (MEA).

He added, "From the time I got from my bed to the shower, I would be in extreme, excruciating pain, and I would have to sit down three or four times. You realise that you take so many things for granted like you jump out of bed, but when you don't have full control of your limbs, it gives you a different perspective altogether."

About ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack'

IC-814 was hijacked by five terrorists on December 24, 1999, 40 minutes after it took off from Kathmandu. The aircraft carrying about 180 passengers remained hostage for seven days and flew from Kathmandu to Amritsar and then to Lahore. It was re-fuelled in Lahore and left for Dubai. From Dubai, it went to Taliban-controlled Kandahar, where all the passengers were released on December 31, 2000.

Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Dia Mirza, Pooja Gor, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sushant Singh, Aditya Srivastava, Rajeev Thakur, and Yashpal Sharma are also a part of the show.