‘Coolie’ fight director Pappu Verma recalls panic after Puneet Issar’s punch to Big B

‘Pehli film mein isne itne bade superstar ko maar diya’: ‘Coolie’ fight director Pappu Verma recalls panic after Puneet Issar’s punch and why the team concealed details of Amitabh Bachchan’s 1982 near-fatal accident

Veteran fight director Pappu Verma has revisited the circumstances surrounding Amitabh Bachchan’s serious accident on the sets of ‘Coolie’ in 1982. In a conversation with YouTuber Rajeev Chaudhari, Verma recalled that a stuntman had been injured earlier that day, before a punch from the veteran actor Puneet Issar struck Bachchan during a fight sequence.

He also explained why the team came up with an alternative account of the incident, amid concerns about the impact it could have on Issar’s acting career.

Pappu Verma recalls the first accident on the sets of ‘Coolie’

In an interview with YouTuber Rajeev Chaudhari’s channel, veteran fight director Pappu Verma, who worked as the action director on Manmohan Desai’s ‘Coolie’, said the day’s first mishap involved a stuntman named Shakti. According to him, Shakti was struck during a fight scene, injuring his eye and requiring stitches.“Pehla accident tha Shakti, hamara ek stuntman. Usko punch laga toh uski aankh phat gayi. Usko do taanke aaye,(The first accident involved Shakti, one of our stuntmen. He got hit with a punch, which ruptured his eye, and he needed two stitches)” Verma recalled.

Puneet Issar’s punch injured Amitabh Bachchan during a solo fight

Verma said the second incident occurred later that evening, when the unit began filming a solo fight sequence between Bachchan and Issar, who was making his acting debut with the film.

“Shaam ko humne jab action shuru kiya, Puneet ka aur Amit ji ka, toh wahan pe woh solo fight thi. Usmein direct Puneet ka punch Amit ji ko yahan pe, unki arteries pe laga,(When we started shooting the action sequence in the evening between Puneet and Amitabh ji, it was a solo fight. In that scene, Puneet's direct punch hit Amitabh ji right here on his arteries)” he said.Verma recalled that Issar’s punch landed directly on Bachchan during the sequence.

The incident had serious consequences for the superstar and became one of the most widely remembered episodes in his career.

‘Puneet ke career ka bhi sawaal tha’: Why the team came up with an explanation

Verma said the crew faced a difficult situation after Bachchan was injured. According to his account, the next shot required the actor to go over a table, and the team decided to use that action to explain the injury rather than disclose the exact circumstances of the punch.“Uske baad next shot tha ki table ke upar se jaana tha. Toh humko us waqt ek kahani banani padi ki bhai table se gaye toh lag gaya unko, kyunki Puneet ke career ka bhi sawaal tha,(After that, the next shot involved going over a table.

So we had to make up a story at that moment saying he got hurt when he landed on the table, because Puneet's career was also at stake)” he recalled.He explained that the team was concerned that Issar could face blame for injuring one of the biggest stars in the country during his very first film.“Pehli film mein isne itne bade superstar ko maar diya,(He hit such a big superstar in his very first film)” Verma said, describing the concern surrounding the incident.According to Verma, director Manmohan Desai instructed the team not to discuss what had actually happened. He added that details eventually emerged in media reports.

‘There would be no punches to the stomach’: Safety rules after the accident

Verma also recalled the precautions introduced when filming resumed after Bachchan’s recovery. The actor spent several months in hospital following the accident, and production continued only after he had recovered sufficiently to return to work.“Coolie ke accident ke baad humne, matlab Manmohan ji ne categorically bola hai ki bhai, pet pe toh punch hoga hi nahi (After the accident on Coolie, Manmohan ji categorically stated that there would be no punches to the stomach at all),” Verma said.He explained that Desai made it clear that no punches would be directed at the stomach after the incident.Verma added that Desai had a set constructed at Chandiwali, where the team continued filming the action sequences.“6 mahine Amit ji hospital mein the. Aaye, achhe hue, uske baad hi resumed (Amit ji was in the hospital for six months. He returned, recovered, and only then resumed shooting),” he said, recalling that shooting resumed only after Bachchan had recovered and returned to the set.

Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Coolie’ accident remains a defining moment in his career

Bachchan was seriously injured while filming ‘Coolie’ in Bengaluru in 1982 during a fight sequence involving Issar. The accident led to a prolonged hospital stay and became a defining moment in the actor’s life and career. The incident has continued to draw attention over the decades, with accounts from people who worked on the film offering further insight into the circumstances surrounding the accident, the anxiety on set and the precautions taken when production resumed.Directed by Manmohan Desai, ‘Coolie’ went on to become one of Bachchan’s best-known films.