'We were scared...': 'Kalki' director on Amitabh Bachchan's rib injury
What's the story
Legendary Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan made on-screen appearances in 2024 in two films: Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) and Vettaiyan (Tamil).
In a recent interview with journalist Prema, Nag Ashwin—the director of Kalki—shared insights about Bachchan's involvement in this action-packed sci-fi epic.
"I think Bachchan sir is still a child in his heart. He loves action films. In fact, he is the OG action hero of our country," said Ashwin.
On-set incident
Bachchan's injury on set caused concern for 'Kalki' team
During the filming of Kalki, Bachchan got injured and it worried the crew.
Recollecting the memory, Ashwin recalled, "When he had that catch, we didn't know what to do. We were like 'India is going to scold us now' and all of us were scared...But yeah, Bachchan sir knew what it takes."
Despite having body doubles and following safety procedures, Bachchan did his own stunts because he loves action films.
Script trust
Here's what happened to Big B
In 2023, the actor suffered a muscle tear to his right rib cage during the incident. He was shooting for an action sequence when he got injured.
"In Hyderabad at the shoot for Project K (then tentatively titled), during an action shot, I have got injured...rib cartilage popped broke and muscle tear to the right rib cage," wrote Big B on his blog.
He went on to inform his fans that the shooting had to be canceled.
Action tales
Bachchan's stories about past action sequences fascinated the crew
Ashwin revealed that Bachchan would frequently regale them with stories from his initial days in the industry, especially about the action sequences he used to do.
"He used to tell us stories about the kind of action sequences he used to be a part of in his heyday. He told us about the injuries he suffered."
"In fact, whenever Bachchan sir and Prabhas are working together, they speak about action sequences, injuries, etc...and we'd be in awe," added Ashwin.
Box office triumph
'Kalki 2898 AD' achieved global success despite challenges
Despite the hurdles encountered during its making, Kalki 2898 AD became a massive box office success, grossing over ₹1,000 crore worldwide.
The film also stars Deepika Padukone and Kamal Haasan in key roles and has music by Santhosh Narayanan.
However, it was recently dethroned from its spot as one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2024 by Allu Arjun-Sukumar's Pushpa 2.
Meanwhile, the second part of Kalki is currently in pre-production.