Amitabh Bachchan Comforted 'Guilty' Puneet Issar After Near-Fatal Coolie Accident: 'Relax, You Didn't...'

Amitabh Bachchan’s near-death experience on the set of Coolie in 1982 remains one of Bollywood’s most shocking moments. During a high-stakes action scene, Puneet Issar was supposed to throw a mock punch at Amitabh Bachchan. But things took a dangerous turn when Amitabh misjudged a leap and landed awkwardly on a table, suffering a life-threatening injury. Though he initially brushed it off, his condition quickly worsened, forcing doctors to perform an emergency surgery. As Big B fought for his life, the entire nation was glued to the news, praying for his recovery.

Despite following the scene’s choreography, Puneet Issar faced severe backlash. Amitabh, however, held no grudge, comforting Puneet Issar and reassuring him it was just an accident. Yet, the damage was done — Puneet Issar was almost blacklisted by the industry, losing out on several projects and facing years of struggle, which took a toll on both him and his family.

In an old interview with Rediff, Puneet Issar had recalled the ‘greatness’ of Amitabh Bachchan. “I remember Mr Bachchan telling me, ‘Puneet relax, it happened to me also. It was an accident. You didn’t mean it.’ Look at the greatness of that man. He told me all this when he was in hospital,” he had said.

He also recalled how he didn’t get any work in the industry for many years. “I would go to hospital regularly to see Amitji. For 3, 4 years, I did not get any work. I had a wife to support and was jobless. I did Z grade films at that time. I struggled for six years after that accident and only after that did people start coming forward to work with me. I got roles like Duryodhan in B R Chopra’s television serial, Mahabharata,” he had said.

But all this while, Puneet Issar and his wife visited Amitabh Bachchan in the hospital. The Bachchan family, especially Jaya Bachchan, was ‘nice’ to him. “He is a great man. My wife and I had gone to see Mr Bachchan at Breach Candy Hospital and my wife donated blood for him. I was petrified and thought all this had happened because of me. The press wrote all kinds of things about me and I was paranoid,” he remembered.

Puneet issar never worked with Amitabh Bachchan after Coolie. He, however, went on to share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan’s son Abhishek Bachchan in his debut film Refugee.