Puneet Issar Breaks Silence on the 'Coolie' Incident: “My Career Was Snatched Away”

In 1982, while shooting for the Hindi film Coolie, the legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan was severely injured during an action sequence. The incident involved co-actor Puneet Issar, whose punch—meant to look dramatic on screen—accidentally hit Amitabh with unexpected force, resulting in a life-threatening injury.

We all remember the horrifying accident on the set of Coolie in 1982. During a fight scene, Amitabh Bachchan was seriously hurt when co-actor Puneet Issar landed a blow that went wrong. The situation was so grave that doctors declared Amitabh "clinically dead" for a brief period. Fans across the country prayed for his recovery, and after spending nearly two months in the hospital, Big B returned home on September 24th—safe and sound.

Amitabh Bachchan Stood by Puneet

In the aftermath, Puneet Issar faced massive backlash from the media and Amitabh’s fans. He received hate mail and threats, even though it was a genuine accident. However, Amitabh stood by him, reassuring Puneet with words of comfort: “You’re not at fault, Puneet. I know you didn’t do this intentionally.” Not only that, Amitabh even made public appeals asking fans to stop targeting Puneet unfairly.

“They Took My Work Away” – Puneet Opens Up

Now, years later, Puneet Issar has opened up about that difficult phase in a heartfelt interview. He recalled how that one incident changed the course of his life and career.

“After that accident, people were terrified of me,” he said. “They’d whisper, ‘He’s a black belt in martial arts, imagine the damage if he had hit with full force!’ People started forming theories and making assumptions about me.”

Puneet continued, “Life teaches you through every phase. I was just 21 at the time. I had landed the role of the main villain in an Amitabh Bachchan film, and had 10 films lined up. And then—just like that—everything was gone. People forgot I was a trained actor, a gold medalist from Actor’s Studio, a professor of languages. Suddenly, I was labeled a ‘fighter’—and that’s all the work I was offered. I had no choice but to take it. I was already married by then, and I had to run my household.”

From Being Shunned to Becoming Duryodhan

For nearly six years, Puneet was almost boycotted by the film industry. But things changed when B. R. Chopra offered him the role of Duryodhan in the iconic mythological TV series Mahabharat (1988). That role turned out to be a major breakthrough and a turning point in his career.

Following the success of Mahabharat, he went on to appear in several other notable shows such as Param Vir Chakra (1987), Bharat Ek Khoj (1988), Junoon (1994-1998), Noorjahan (1999-2000), and later even portrayed Parashuram in the 2013 remake of Mahabharat. He was also seen as a contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss 8 (2014-2015).

From Acting to Directing

Puneet didn't just stop at acting. He worked in more than 150 films across multiple languages including Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. Some of his notable films include Purana Mandir (1984), Sanam Bewafa (1991), Chandramukhi (1993), Ram Jaane (1995), Border (1997), Refugee (2000), Krrish (2006), Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), and Ready (2011).

He made his directorial debut with Garv: Pride and Honour (2004), starring Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty. He also directed the popular film Partner (2007), starring Salman Khan and Govinda.

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