When Amitabh Bachchan was declared 'clinically dead' after fatal accident on Coolie set: That’s when they felt it was all over...

Amitabh Bachchan Throwback: When he was in Coma

In one of the most harrowing chapters of his life, Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan was once declared "clinically dead" after a life-threatening accident on the sets of his iconic film Coolie in the early 1980s.

What seemed like a routine stunt took a tragic turn, leaving Sr Bachchan with severe internal injuries that would nearly cost him his life. However, in a testament to his resilience and the unwavering support of his wife, Jaya Bachchan, he defied all odds and made a miraculous recovery.

The incident occurred during a high-energy fight sequence between Bachchan and actor Puneet Issar.

A mistimed jump led to the Shehenshah actor hitting the corner of a table with immense force, causing ruptures in his intestines. What initially seemed like an unfortunate but manageable accident quickly spiraled into an emergency. The actor was rushed to a hospital, bleeding internally, and the medical team worked tirelessly to stabilise him. As the hours wore on, his condition deteriorated.

His vital signs began to fade, and doctors declared him clinically dead, unable to detect a pulse or blood pressure. The news spread like wildfire, leaving the nation in shock, with fans, colleagues, and political figures, including Bachchan's close friend, Rajiv Gandhi, praying for a miracle.

In a heart-wrenching interview years later with Simi Garewal, Big B recounted the horrifying experience of being declared clinically dead. He described how the severity of his injuries caused him to lapse into a coma, and the subsequent surgery to repair the damage was nothing short of an emergency procedure.

"I was in a coma. I had ruptured my intestine in the accident on the set. And then there was the surgery which was conducted almost as an emergency. We went to Bombay 5 days later, the sutures ruptured, and I had to have another surgery. It was the end of that surgery where I couldn’t come out of anaesthesia for 12-14 hours. That’s when they felt it was all over because there was hardly any pulse, BP was down to almost zero," he recalled.

While the medical team had given up hope, Jaya Bachchan stood by her husband, refusing to accept the grim reality. In a deeply emotional retelling of those traumatic moments, Jaya shared her experience on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, revealing how she clung to her faith and the Hanuman Chalisa, praying fervently for his recovery.

She spoke of the moment when, after hours of intense medical intervention, she noticed a subtle movement in Big B's toe—a sign that he was alive.

"I had the prayer book in my hand, Hanuman Chalisa. Dr Dastoor passed by and said, ‘It’s only your prayers that’ll help.’ But I couldn’t read it. I couldn’t see what they were doing but I could see that they were pumping his heart, they were giving him injections. And after they gave up, I saw his toe move, and I said, ‘He moved, he moved.’ And then he revived."

This miraculous recovery, however, was just the beginning of a long and arduous journey. Amitabh faced a gruelling period of surgeries and rehabilitation, losing around 75% of his body strength.

He even lost his ability to walk and had to re-learn basic motor skills, an exhausting process that changed his physical appearance dramatically. During this time, his young son, Abhishek Bachchan, was deeply affected.

At just six years old, Abhishek had an asthma attack after hearing a cruel comment from a schoolmate suggesting that his father would die. The emotional toll on the Bachchan family was immense, and the trauma of those days left lasting scars, even though they rarely speak of it.

Months passed before Amitabh was fit enough to return to the film sets. Coolie was completed, but the climax had to be rewritten in light of Amitabh's real-life battle with death.

Initially, the film’s protagonist was meant to die, but the filmmakers changed the ending to reflect the actor's miraculous survival. Coolie became a massive box-office success, not just because of its performances, but also because of the real-life drama that surrounded its making.

Amitabh Bachchan’s recovery and return to work is widely regarded as one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of Indian cinema.

His story is not just one of survival, but of the human spirit's resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity. Even more than four decades later, the tale of Amitabh Bachchan’s battle against death continues to inspire millions. His journey from near-death to superstardom remains one of the most powerful narratives of courage, strength, and sheer willpower.