Kamal Haasan’s multiple fractures in his leg also dealt a blow to the shooting of his Hindi-Tamil-Telugu comedy Sabaash Naidu which he is directing and acting in. The heartening news now is that the actor-writer-filmmaker will return to his roles before and behind the camera sooner than expected. Sabaash Naidu is already 40 per cent complete, and Kamal hopes to make up for lost time once he resumes shooting. “The hard part is that we are shooting the film in three separate languages,” he explains.
“My leg is actually healing much faster than the doctors expected. I have a limp and it will take some time to go. But I won’t let it show in my walk. I will be ready to resume shooting in mid-November,” says Kamal.
Recalling the accident, the actor observes that though this was terrible, he has gone through worse — “During the shooting of a K. Balachander’s Punnagai Mannan, the three harnesses by which I was hanging in mid-air snapped, and I fell to the ground with a thud. I thought Balachanderji would get a heart attack! Since the fall was so steep and sudden, everyone thought I’d be dead or crippled. Luckily, I got away with just torn ligaments, and wounds and bruises.
Then during the shoot of Kalaignan, I did an action scene in a subway. It was a relatively easy sequence, but a speeding car hit me smack on my spine! I landed on top of the car. Then, when it halted, I went under the wheel. I dislocated my jaw, my nose was cracked, and I had three fractures. I thought I’d never walk again.” Guess he has to thank his lucky stars, a thousand times over!
