It was in 1982 that Bollywood experienced one of its worst hours.
Amitabh Bachchan was filming the action film Coolie when he met a ghastly accident while doing a stunt that left him on the verge of death. A misplaced jump shattered his spleen, causing immense internal bleeding. Rushed to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, he was operated upon and put in critical condition by his doctors, with fans all over India holding their breath with anxiety.
In the tense environment after Amitabh Bachchan’s near-mortal accident on Coolie sets, an unlikely guest showed up at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. Raj Kapoor, the legendary director and showman famous for his zest for life, entered the intensive care unit with a bottle of champagne. This bizarre act shocked all who were present there, injecting some humor into an otherwise grim environment.
Amitabh Bachchan later spoke of this poignant moment in Ritu Nanda’s biography, Raj Kapoor – The One and Only Showman. Kapoor sat next to him and said, “Hurry up and get out, we need to smash this bottle on your ship of life and launch a fresh new beginning.” This gesture of friendship and positivity made an indelible mark on Bachchan when he was recovering.
“In 1982, when I met with my accident on the sets of Coolie and was lying fighting for life at Breach Candy Hospital, he came into the ICU in the morning, holding in his hand a bottle of champagne, sat down next to me and said, ‘Hurry up and shift, we have to break this bottle on your ship of life and set off a new fresh start.’ The film industry’s greatest showman, Raj-ji, was a person who had joie de vivre in every cell of his body.”. He took the lead, and with him came his enthusiasm.
It was not an ordinary gesture. In a room dominated by fear and doubt, there was Raj Kapoor who introduced a sense of hope and determination. The bottle of champagne remained unopened, yet its implication was unmistakable—life has to go on, and things will get better.
Although Amitabh Bachchan and Raj Kapoor never worked together on a feature film, there was mutual respect between them. Their sole on-screen appearance together was a quick cameo in the all-time classic song “John Jani Janardhan” from the 1981 blockbuster Naseeb. Even there, their combined charisma was indelible.
Amitabh’s recuperation was nothing less than miraculous. Months of rehabilitation passed, and he returned to finish Coolie, which went on to be one of the decade’s biggest box office hits. But more than a hit at the box office, his survival was a victory of will—and proof of the power of friendship in Hollywood.
Raj Kapoor’s trip to Amitabh Bachchan in the ICU, with a bottle of champagne, is one of Bollywood’s most touching and mysterious stories. This surprise visit at a moment of crisis is a testament to how hope and friendship can light up even the darkest hours. It’s a tribute to the ageless quality of camaraderie that characterizes Indian cinema’s golden era.
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