EXCLUSIVE: Sharat Saxena speaks about his SHOCKING injury on the set of Aaj Ka Goonda Raj; he says, “I could not lift anything from my left hand. It had become totally USELESS”

By Fenil Seta -

August 18, 2021 - 4:30 PM IST

Action has always been one of the most important highlights in cinemas across the world and Bollywood is no exception. In today’s times, doing stunts has become easier for actors thanks to safety measures and the presence of stunt doubles. However, there was a time when this was not the case. Actors did dangerous and difficult stunts themselves and even suffered accidents.

EXCLUSIVE: Sharat Saxena speaks about his SHOCKING injury on the set of Aaj Ka Goonda Raj; he says, “I could not lift anything from my left hand. It had become totally USELESS”

Sharat Saxena has done several action roles and has gone through some shocking injuries. In an interview with a tabloid a month back, he had said, "We didn’t have the luxury of having duplicates for our stunts. I was expected to do mine because of how I was built. I ended up in the hospital 13 times".

When Bollywood Hungama brought up this topic during our exclusive interview, he said, “The thing is that we have always used our bodies as machines. Jis din kharaab hoti hai, jaa ke repair karwate hai. Doctor hamare liye mechanic hai! My last surgery happened last year. My legs were painful and I had to get operated on as I had to shoot for Sherni (2021). It was so painful that I couldn’t even walk 50 steps. So I went to Dr Abhaya Kumar at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. He conducted surgery after which my leg is absolutely fine.”

So who used to bear the costs when he used to get admitted to hospitals after suffering an injury to the sets? To which, Sharat Saxena replied, “I did not have medical insurance in those days. My first major surgery that took place was after my left arm was torn off or rather got disengaged in a fall on the sets of Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj (1992). Still, I completed the climax of the film. 10 days later, I came back to Mumbai. I could not lift anything from my left hand. It had become totally useless. That’s when I was operated upon and its cost was borne by producer N N Sippy. Later, I got my mediclaim done and that has helped me during my later surgeries.”

Sharat Saxena also shared more information on this and other aspects, “My first film was in Tamil called Gunaa (1991), starring Kamal Haasan. Then I had done a film for Sivaji Productions called Mannan (1992). I also worked in its Telugu remake. It starred Chiranjeevi, who also featured in Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj. Interestingly, I also worked in Gundaraj (1995), starring Ajay Devgn. In this film, too, I suffered an accident on the sets in Hyderabad. I slipped and landed on my left hand. The bone in the wrist was shattered. A surgery was done there at Apollo Hospital. I then came to Mumbai and yahan aake haath mein plates lagani padi. Then I had to undergo one more surgery to get those plates removed.”

Also Read: On his 71st birthday, Sharat Saxena remembers his parents, working with Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Amrish Puri; opens up on the popularity of his Phir Hera Pheri character