Doctors Warned Amitabh Bachchan About Career Uncertainty

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25th Aug, 2023. 05:49 pm
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Amitabh Bachchan was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis in 1984.
Tinnu Anand was worried that he might not be able to finish his film “Shahenshah”.
He was advised to take a break from acting and rest completely.

During an interview, filmmaker-actor Tinnu Anand shared a story about how Amitabh Bachchan had discussed his health condition with him back in 1984, just before the shooting of “Shehenshah.” This was when Bachchan was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis.

Tinnu Anand recounted that he spent an entire year fearing that he might not be able to finish his ambitious project due to Bachchan’s health situation.

Tinnu Anand recalled an incident when he arrived at the Mard film sets in Mysore, only to discover that Amitabh Bachchan had sustained an injury.

He subsequently traveled to Bangalore to meet Amitabh, who kindly invited him to take a seat during their conversation. “I was told to wait in the hotel where I will meet Amitabh. And then finally, when he arrived, he knew the kind of jittery person I was. He said, ‘Just sit down, please, before you fall.’ I’ve got bad news for you’. He asked me to cancel my schedule as he got something called Myasthenia Gravis. It is a disease of the muscles. He said, ‘During the shoot when I was taking a sip of water, it got stuck in my throat. The message to my brain did not go that I need to swallow it, so it got stuck. I nearly died, suffocating on it.’ He then explained that he had been asked to go to Bombay for a checkup and complete rest. He said the doctors had warned him that I might never be able to work again’.”

In 1984, while filming for “Mard” and before commencing production for “Shahenshah,” Amitabh Bachchan received his diagnosis, leading him to take a hiatus of over a year.

The director also recounted how he fell down in shock when Amitabh revealed that he might not return to acting, leading the actor to urgently request an ambulance. Tinnu added that creditors started demanding repayment of the funds they had invested in the film “Shahenshah” after a news article quoted Amitabh expressing his intention to quit acting. However, the situation took a turn about twelve months later when Tinnu visited Ajitabh. During the visit, Ajitabh assured that Amitabh would finish all his unfinished movies once his treatment concluded.

Amitabh was cited as expressing, “I know I am quite ill. It doesn’t look as if I will ever be able to face the camera again. Anyways, people are getting fed up of me doing the same role over and over again, aren’t they?”

In a report from 1984, producer Manmohan Desai, known for producing “Mard,” was quoted as follows: “The newspaper reports are just sensationalistic. To the best of my knowledge, he is merely suffering from overwork. I did not detect anything particularly wrong during our shooting in the south.”

Doctors Warned Amitabh Bachchan About Career Uncertainty

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