Puneet Issar reveals he was unemployed for six years after his punch left Amitabh Bachchan 'clinically dead' on Coolie: 'People were scared of me'

Back in 1982, news that Amitabh Bachchan had been critically injured on the sets of Coolie during a shoot in Bengaluru sent shockwaves among fans and well-wishers. A stunt gone wrong during a fight sequence between Bachchan and actor Puneet Issar turned into a national scare when Big B was rushed to hospital and even declared ‘clinically dead’ for a few minutes. Puneet Issar recently opened up about his situation after Bachchan got injured due to his punch.

In a conversation with Digital Commentary, Issar shared how the incident turned his world upside down and reshaped his career. “People were quite scared of me after that incident,” he recalled. “They said I was an 8th-degree black belt holder. People came up with theories and assumptions. They said, ‘Agar itna halka punch bruised Amitabh Bachchan so badly, then… (what if he uses all his potential)?’” The fallout from the accident left Issar unemployed for nearly six years.
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Despite the difficult times, Puneet remained determined. Having recently got married and with a family to support, he chose to view the turbulent phase as a period of personal transformation. While dealing with those churning moments, he said, “It made me a better actor and human being.” The adversity, he added, helped him see through pretences and recognise who his true friends were.

“I learnt to be patient and humble. One second changed my life—from a 21-year-old who was signed as the main villain against Amitabh Bachchan, had 10 films in his kitty—to someone who suddenly lost all his films. People suddenly forgot that I was a gold medallist from the actor’s studio and a trained artist. I was a professor of language and diction. All this vanished; I suddenly became a ‘fighter’. From then on, I only received such roles, and to make ends meet, I had to accept them. I was married, after all.”

Now widely recognised for his iconic portrayal of Duryodhana in B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat, Puneet attributes much of his inner strength and resilience to the challenging days that followed the Coolie incident. He did not lose focus during that difficult phase of his life.

Amitabh once recalled in his blog that he slipped into a coma-like state after surgery at the hospital. Five days later, following another operation, he was declared clinically dead for a few minutes. In a final attempt to revive him, Dr Wadia administered around 40 ampoules of cortisone and adrenaline, which ultimately brought him back to life.