Veteran actor Puneet Issar, who has become immortal in every household with his lively and powerful portrayal of Duryodhana in the most prestigious and timeless serial of Indian television history, 'Mahabharata', does not need any recognition today. But before reaching the pinnacle of popularity at the national level through this historic show, Puneet Issar's film journey had gone through a very struggling and painful phase. The direction of Puneet's career, who was making his mark as a promising action star and actor in Hindi cinema, suddenly changed in 1982 in such a way that his entire life was in trouble. An unexpected accident that happened with megastar Amitabh Bachchan on the set of the film 'Coolie' being directed by Manmohan Desai proved to be a nightmare for Puneet Issar, which not only tried to put a full stop to his career but also forced him to face immense neglect and hatred at the social level.
Recently, remembering his old days and the ups and downs of his life, Puneet Issar has expressed his heartache in a detailed conversation. He openly told how after the incident that happened on the sets of 'Coolie' in Bengaluru, the Hindi film industry had completely turned its back on him. At that time, people started seeing him as the person because of whom the life of the country's biggest superstar Amitabh Bachchan was in danger. Puneet explains that it was not an intentional act but merely an unexpected technical and action accident, but after that incident he had to sit idle without any work for many years. This difficult ordeal had completely shaken him at all three levels, mental, professional and personal.
Sharing his bitter experiences of that period, Puneet Issar said that immediately after the accident, he did not get work in any mainstream film for almost 6 years. Film producers and directors started shying away from working with him because they feared that the public's anger might erupt over their films. Puneet said that I have always firmly believed that whatever happens in life, it happens for some good purpose only. Unfortunately, that terrible accident happened that day. Even though I did not get any work for six years after that incident, the bitter reality was that I had become famous all over the world overnight. People started recognizing me as the person who almost pushed Amitabh Bachchan to death. It was a pure accident and I never even dreamed of doing it intentionally.
Puneet further got emotional and said that Amit ji is a complete megastar and I have always been a big fan of his. The six years after that accident were very difficult and challenging for me and my family. Far from getting the roles of my choice, I was thrown out of the films for which I was signed overnight. Many times I was removed from the project without giving any reason. Despite this, I never blamed any producer, director or my fate. I considered it to be my destiny and that time of extreme solitude and struggle made me a stronger, patient and mature person from within.
This heart-wrenching incident happened in the year 1982, when a very important action and fight sequence of the climax of the film 'Coolie' was being shot in the campus of Bengaluru University. In that scene, Punit Issar was supposed to punch Amitabh Bachchan and as per the script, Amitabh was supposed to step back and fall on a table. The shot started on the instructions of the fight master, but due to a few seconds of manipulation in the timing, Puneet's punch went in a slightly wrong direction and Amitabh Bachchan's stomach hit the sharp edge of the table very hard. Initially the injury seemed minor, but within a few hours Amitabh's health began deteriorating rapidly and internal bleeding began.
Investigation revealed that the corner of the table had directly hit his intestines, causing severe rupture of the internal organs. Amitabh Bachchan was immediately airlifted from Bengaluru to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. There was silence across the country and crores of fans were praying for the life of the megastar in temples, mosques and gurudwaras. The specialized team of doctors at the hospital performed many complex and emergency surgeries. Amitabh Bachchan kept swinging between life and death in the ICU for several weeks. In that critical period, public anger against Puneet Issar was at its peak and he was facing criticism from all sides.
After six years of long exile and struggle, a new ray of hope finally shone in the life of Puneet Issar, when famous filmmaker B.R. Chopra announced the production of the epic 'Mahabharata' for Doordarshan. This mega project changed the direction of Puneet's entire career forever. Interestingly, seeing Puneet Issar's huge height, broad chest and muscular body, B.R. Chopra and casting director Pandit Narendra Sharma initially selected him for the role of 'Bheem', the mace-wielding Pandava son.
However, something else was going on in Puneet Issar's mind. Puneet believed that the character of Bheem is straightforward and simple, whereas the character of Duryodhana has complexity, jealousy, ego, Kshatriya valor and multidimensional emotions which can prove his talent as an actor. When Puneet asked B.R. When he told Chopra Sahab that he wanted to audition for the role of villain Duryodhana instead of Bheem, Chopra Sahab and his entire team were surprised. But Puneet remained adamant on his insistence and gave such an energetic and powerful audition of Duryodhana's dialogues that the makers were mesmerized. When 'Mahabharat' started airing on TV, Punit Issar's spoken dialogues and his hilarious laugh made him the most memorable villain in the history of Indian television and people forgot that old incident and became enamored with his acting.