‘The man who almost killed Amitabh Bachchan’: Puneet Issar recalls not getting work for six years after ‘Coolie’ accident before he got to play Duryodhan in ‘Mahabharat’ |

Puneet Issar is best known for playing Duryodhan in the iconic television series ‘Mahabharat’. However, before the mythological show made him a household name, the actor was building his career in Hindi cinema and had several films to his credit. His professional journey took an unexpected turn in 1982 following an accident involving Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of ‘Coolie’. In a recent conversation with Amit Bhatia, Puneet recalled how the incident affected his career, the difficult years that followed and how ‘Mahabharat’ eventually changed his fortunes.Recalling the aftermath of the accident, Puneet said he did not get work for six years and was often identified as the man who almost killed Amitabh Bachchan. He maintained that the incident was accidental and spoke about how the experience tested him professionally and personally.“I am a firm believer that whatever happens, happens for the good. Unfortunately, that incident happened. I didn’t get work for six years after that, but I became world famous. People started knowing me as the man who almost killed Amitabh Bachchan. It was just an accident. I never did it intentionally. Amitji is a megastar and I am his huge fan. After that, those six years were a tough period. I didn’t get the kind of roles I wanted, and I was dropped out of some films, but I don’t blame anybody. That was my destiny; it made me stronger.”Puneet eventually found a turning point with BR Chopra’s ‘Mahabharat’, in which he played Duryodhan. Interestingly, the makers had initially envisioned him as Bheem, but the actor was keen to portray Duryodhan and insisted on auditioning for the part. His performance went on to become one of the most memorable aspects of the television series.“I got Mahabharata; I became known as dusht Duryodhan. And I wanted to play that character. BR Chopra sahab wanted me to play Bheem. He and his colleague were shocked to find out when I said I wanted to audition for the role of Duryodhan. But I insisted that I wanted to play Duryodhan. People related to that character so much.”The accident took place in 1982 while Amitabh and Puneet were filming a fight sequence for ‘Coolie’ in Bengaluru. A mistimed punch during the scene left Amitabh with a severe injury. The actor was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent multiple surgeries and remained in critical condition for an extended period.In April, Puneet spoke to Digital Commentary about how the incident altered the course of his career. He recalled that people began making assumptions about his strength because he was a trained martial artist, and his earlier accomplishments as an actor were soon forgotten. He also spoke about having to accept roles he had not originally envisioned for himself to support his family.“People were quite scared of me after that incident. They said he is an 8th-degree black belt holder. People created theories and assumptions. They said, ‘Agar itna halka punch bruised Amitabh Bachchan so badly, then… what if he uses all his potential. Irrespective of the phase, people learn a lot. 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, with 10 films in his kitty, to someone who suddenly lost all his films. People suddenly forgot that I was a Gold Medalist 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 take them up. I was married after all.”Amitabh has also recalled the harrowing experience in a blog post, describing how his condition deteriorated after he was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. The actor revealed that he was clinically dead for a few minutes before doctors managed to revive him through emergency medical intervention.“I went into almost a haze and a coma-like situation. Within five days of coming into Breach Candy, I had another surgery and didn’t come out of that one for a very, very long time, and I was clinically dead for a couple of minutes. Then Dr Wadia, who looked after me and is an absolute life-saver, just said, ‘I’m going to take a last chance,’ and he started pumping adrenaline injections into me one after another- almost 40 ampules of it- with the hope that something would happen, and then I got revived.”Fix the chronology and endingClean up the long direct quotes