How Coolie fever gripped India 40 years ago, a hit Bachchan delivered a superhit

India Today

9 hours ago

The OG Coolie came in red uniform with a pet falcon, and that was over 40 years ago. With Rajinikanth's Coolie hitting the screens on August 14, fans are queuing up in anticipation and spending thousands on just one movie ticket. It was a similar frenzy over four decades ago, in December 1983, when Amitabh Bachchan's Coolie was released. Fans of the "angry young man" turned theatres into temples.advertisementThat's because Amitabh Bachchan's Coolie was more than a movie; it became a national event, a moment when the lines between cinema and life blurred. Bachchan faced a near-fatal accident while shooting a fight sequence for the film with Puneet Issar.Bachchan's "injury became a national talking point. For many days, newspapers carried his health report on the front page," writes author-journalist Avijit Ghosh in his book When Ardh Satya met Himmatwala, a book on Hindi cinema of the 80s.
"For several weeks, Bachchan's life hung by the thinnest of threads. India prayed," writes Ghosh.People from across the country prayed for Bachchan's recovery. Its release turned theatres into temples."I as a school-going kid, watched Coolie [1983] with my parents at the Model Cinema in the old-walled city of Ahmedabad. Fully housefull shows for many-many weeks," Ahmedabad-based chartered accountant and wildlife photographer, Vishal Dave, posted on X.Such has been the craze for Bachchan's character of Iqbal Aslam Khan that the Coolies in Kanpur, as of 2012, have celebrated Big B's birthday every year since the film's release in December 1983, reported news agency ANI in 2012.Coolie was among the only 13 films which crossed the Rs 1-crore mark in any major territory, the India Today Magazine reported, quoting trade sources, in May 1984, months after the movie's release. When Coolie went past its jubilee week in Bombay (now Mumbai), it was poised to begin its run in the interior areas, it was still earning around Rs 7 lakh per month in the erstwhile state, it reported.Coolie was made on a budget of Rs 3.5 crore and grossed Rs 21 crore, according to reports. The film made crores from the sale of its distribution rights even before its release. The distributors began sharing profits with the makers, reported India Today Magazine in 1983.The frenzy around Rajinikanth's 2025 Coolie, which has minted Rs 119 crore in the first two days, has inevitably brought the spotlight back on the OG Coolie. Amitabh Bachchan's Coolie remains a film that, even after four decades, retains its unmatched pull and nostalgia.advertisement"The only Coolie film India will ever have, Amitabh Bachchan. That red kurta, that 786 badge, that aura. He was a pure legend," wrote a Big B fan on X, while sharing the poster of the 1983 blockbuster.In Rajinikanth's 2025-Coolie moment, it's worth revisiting how Amitabh Bachchan's accident turned anticipation for a film into a nationwide vigil, with fans praying for his recovery. When Coolie was finally released in 1983, the outpouring of love was visible in packed shows across cities and hinterlands alike, as theatres went houseful for weeks on end.AMITABH BACHCHAN'S ACCIDENT ON COOLIE SETThe accident occurred in July 1982 during a high-energy action sequence in Bengaluru for the Manmohan Desai-Bachchan collaboration. Desai, one of the directors, had made 12 films, each of which saw a jubilee run. The stakes were high, and Bachchan was loved by all.Bachchan was performing a jump with co-star Puneet Issar when, at a fleeting moment, the choreography went tragically wrong. He was meant to fall onto a table and then to the ground, but during the fight scene, he hit the table's corner.Bachchan was struck in the abdomen with tremendous force. He lost consciousness immediately and was rushed to St Philomena's Hospital in Bangalore.advertisementHe was brought to Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital.
During the fight scene, Amitabh Bachchan was supposed to land on a table and then on the ground, but he struck the table's corner instead. (Image: File)
At one point, doctors declared him clinically dead. Only the timely injection of adrenaline brought him back, saving a life that had become almost mythic to millions.Across India, fear and concern gripped fans of all ages. People wrote letters in their own blood, pleading for his recovery. The emotional investment of the public in his survival was extraordinary, bordering on reverence.AMITABH BACHCHAN'S ICU STAY AND RETURN OF COOLIE HEROAfter weeks of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) and multiple surgeries, Amitabh slowly edged back from the brink. Nearly two months later, on September 24, 1982, he made a public appearance in what was then Bombay and now Mumbai.The sight of him alive, standing before his fans, brought immense relief and joy. His return became more than a personal recovery; it was an inspiration for millions across the nation.advertisementThe incident also changed the course of Coolie itself.The original climax had envisioned Amitabh's character, Iqbal, dying. After the accident, the filmmakers altered the narrative. Iqbal lived.
Two months after the injury, Amitabh Bachchan made a public appearance in Mumbai. (Image: India Today)
In the final cut of the film, the footage of the accident was retained. The scene is frozen at the exact moment of the injury, with a caption acknowledging that it was the point where Bachchan was injured.The nation's anticipation for Coolie in theatres must have been apparent to the filmmakers and the actors because of just one incident. That was when a lakh people came to see Bachchan as shooting resumed after his recovery.Avijit Ghosh describes the scene at Reclamation Ground in Bombay (now Mumbai) six months after the injury in his book, quoting from the biography of Rishi Kapoor, Bachchan's co-star in Coolie."Over one lakh people turned up for the shoot and local dadas had to be requisitioned for the bandobast as it was beyond the means of the police. I still remember the charged atmosphere every time Amitabh stepped out into the open and the crowd let out a roar, the likes of which I hadn't heard before," recalled Kapoor.advertisementRELEASE OF COOLIE IN 1983 AND ITS BOX OFFICE SUCCESSWhen the film finally released on December 2, 1983, it was received not merely as entertainment, but as a story of hope, survival, and the remarkable bond between an actor and his audience.Despite Amitabh Bachchan's accident turning Coolie into a national event, the film's box office journey unfolded against an industry in crisis."Commercial films, big and small, were falling like nine-pins against pressure from video on one hand, and the industry's own weaknesses on the other," noted India Today in May 1984. The magazine added that the video cassette boom had crippled overseas markets too. Coolie was a hit among the 'flm-pirates' too.The movie's songs added another layer to its appeal. Laxmikant Pyarelal's music, combined with Anand Bakshi's lyrics, created tracks that lingered in memory long after the credits rolled.Songs like 'Dunia ka Bojh' and 'Tumse Milke Accha Laga' were chartbusters, capturing both the vibrancy of the story and the emotional undercurrents of the characters.Bachchan's Coolie even saw 'the falcon', which wasn't just a prop. It was a symbol of destiny and divine intervention, which saved Iqbal at turning points in the story. Coolie of 1983 didn't have just Amitabh Bachchan, but also his falcon, Allarakha. The bird, which flapped its way into all critical moments in the film, was introduced by the director, Manmohan Desai, himself.It was Desai's nephew, the 22-year-old Danny Desai, a "special effects wizard", who created the mechanical falcon and designed its radio-controlled flight paths, according to the India Today magazine report.The film went on to become the highest-grossing Bollywood movie of 1983, selling an estimated 70 million tickets."Coolie, with a rare Muslim protagonist in a mainstream film, and loaded with religious references became a box office sensation," writes Ghosh in his book on 80s Hindi cinema. "Burqawalis have patronised Coolie in a big way," he quotes Manmohan Desai as saying from Film Information of January 14, 1984.Its success was as much about its narrative, the iconic performances, and unforgettable songs as it was about the public's admiration for Amitabh's perseverance.The two leading men of Coolie then and now, Bacchan and Rajinikanth, have joined forces in cinema multiple times. They first collaborated in Andhaa Kaanoon (1983), marking Rajinikanth's Bollywood debut with Bachchan in a special appearance, then in Geraftaar (1985) and Hum (1991), where Rajinikanth played a supporting role.After over three decades, they reunited for the Tamil film Vettaiyan (2024), with Rajinikanth as a police officer and Bachchan making his Tamil debut.Amitabh's Coolie, the accident, recovery and the release of the film remains one of the most extraordinary chapters in Indian cinema. Today, as Rajinikanth's Coolie is being screened, with its own songs, stunts, and spectacle, it serves as a reminder of that extraordinary moment, when cinema and life converged, and the nation held its breath for its superstar. A frenzy over Coolie played out in theatres over 40 years ago.- EndsTune InTrending Reel