Meet actor who left Amitabh Bachchan clinically dead, lost 10 films, went out of work for 6 years: ‘People were afraid'

Mint

24-05-2025

Bollywood has witnessed the dramatic rise and fall of many actors, including those who once shared screens with A-listers but saw their fortunes fade after a single incident. One such actor once had a tragic on-set accident, leaving Amitabh Bachchan fighting for his life in a hospital.
The incident not only shook the fans across the nation but also greatly impacted the actor's career.
The actor is Puneet Issar.
Son of filmmaker Sudesh Issar, Puneet was a trained artist and also an 8th-degree black belt holder.
He made his debut in Bollywood as a villain in Manmohan Desai's 1983 film Coolie.
In one of the intense action scenes, Puneet was to throw a staged punch at Amitabh Bachchan, but the scene went terribly wrong when Bachchan mistimed a jump. He landed hard on a table corner, causing an abdominal wound. Although it seemed like a minor mishap, later it turned serious and was rushed to the hospital where he eventually underwent a life-saving emergency surgery.
Talking about the incident on the sets of Coolie, Amitabh Bachchan once shared on his blog: 'I went into almost a haze and a coma-like situation. Within five days of coming into Breach Candy, I had another surgery and didn't come out of that one for a very, very long time and I was clinically dead for a couple of minutes. Then Dr Wadia, who looked after me and is an absolute life-saver, just said 'I'm going to take a last chance' and he started pumping cortisone/adrenaline injections into me one after another almost, 40 ampules of it, with the hope that something would happen and then I got revived.'
Meanwhile, Puneet told Digital Commentary how the incident seriously impacted his career. He said, "People were quite scared of me after that incident. They said he is 8th degree black belt holder. People created theories and assumptions. They said, 'Agar itna halka punch bruised Amitabh Bachchan so badly then….(what if he uses all his potential).'
'That was maybe my churning period. It made me a better actor and human being," added Puneet who said he was had now work for six years after the incident.
He also said, 'Irrespective of the phase, people learn a lot. I learnt to be patient and humble. One second changed my life from a 21-year-old who was signed as the main villain against Amitabh Bachchan, had 10 films in his kitty to someone who suddenly lost all his films. People suddenly forgot that I was a Gold Medalist from the Actors' Studio and a trained artist. I was a professor of language and diction. All this vanished, I suddenly became a 'fighter'. From then, I only received such roles, and to make ends meet, I had to take that up. I was married after all."
While Puneet did not work with Amitabh Bachchan again after the Coolie accident, he was a part of Bachchan's son Abhishek Bachchan's debut film, Refugee.
Puneet is best known for his role as Duryodhana in B. R. Chopra's TV show Mahabharat.
He went on to work in hit films like Chandra Mukhi (1993), Prem Shakti (1994), Ram Jaane (1995), Border (1997), Refugee (2000), Krrish (2006), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), Ready (2011), Son of Sardaar (2012) and The Kashmir Files (2022).
He also made his directorial debut with Salman Khan's cop drama Garv in 2004.
He also was a part of Bigg Boss 8. During the show, Rekha appeared to promote her film, Super Nani. However, she reportedly ignored Puneet during her segment allegedly for the Coolie incident, claimed multiple reports.
Puneet was last seen in YRF's Jayeshbhai Jordaar.