How Amitabh Bachchan's Fans 'Embarrassed' Him on His 'Second Birthday'

New Delhi: 34 years ago, on this very day, Amitabh Bachchan returned almost miraculously from near-death. He has always acknowledged August 2 as his 'second birthday.'

This year, Big B confessed that he was 'embarrassed' yet humbled by the love he received on the day he and the nation refers to as his 'rebirth.' "They make these art works to commemorate the August 2, 1982 birthday. It embarrasses me, but the sentiments of the people who attach themselves to my life cannot be ignored and so this," Mr Bachchan wrote on his blog.
 

He feels indebted to his fans for his new life and believes his second life was gifted to him because of the undying love and support he received through prayers.

"I have only words of thanks and gratitude to fill up the pages of my life, a life which I truly believe came back to me because of the prayers that went up. That debt shall never be repaid," Mr Bachchan wrote.

Mr Bachchan's son, actor Abhishek also wished him with this Instagram post:
 

 

I can't even remember how many times I would drape a bedsheet in the same way and re-enact this sequence from "Coolie". Would make my friends play the role of Zafar and shoot me with a plastic play gun and I would play the part of Iqbal. Yup, I learnt very early in my life that God made only one Amitabh Bachchan. Happy second birthday Pa. You are my inspiration. #BigB #2882

A photo posted by Abhishek Bachchan (@bachchan) on Aug 1, 2016 at 11:04pm PDT

On July 26 1982, Amitabh Bachchan suffered that infamous near-fatal accident while shooting Manmohan Desai's Coolie in Bengaluru. A mistimed jump in a fight scene with co-star Puneet Issar made him hit the corner of a table, instead of landing on top of it as was planned.

 

The actor was rushed to St. Philomena's Hospital where he underwent an emergency surgery. He was then flown to Mumbai to be treated at the Breach Candy Hospital.

Doctors operated immediately but, even with the emergency splenectomy, Mr Bachchan remained close to death. The nation mourned, fans thronged temples offering to sacrifice limbs in exchange for their hero's recovery. Mr Bachchan's wife, Jaya, walked barefoot from Breach Candy to Siddhi Vinayak Temple every day to pray for him. His close friend Rajiv Gandhi called off his trip to the United States to be with him. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also visited the hospital.

There was still no sign of life - till August 2. In a final measure, doctors injected adrenaline straight into Big B's heart. Almost immediately, Jaya Bachchan saw him squirm and exclaimed "Look, he's alive." August 2 became Mr Bachchan's 'rebirth.'

Director Manmohan Desai rewrote the ending of Coolie to have Mr Bachchan's character recover from an operation, just as he had done in real life. It would be unfair to the man who had cheated death in reality to not do so on screen, the director said. The movie was a huge success.

Amitabh Bachchan, now 73, went on to deliver movies like Shahanshah, Hum and Agneepath. He will next be seen in Pink, directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury later this year.