‘Sanjay Khan was burnt from top to bottom’: Ananth Mahadevan recalls ‘most traumatic night’ when Tipu Sultan sets caught fire

Ananth Mahadevan, who was besides a portion of the bid arsenic Pandit Purnaiya, recalled the incidental successful a speech with Siddharth Kannan. He said, “The time I had to alert to Mysore to the studio, my operator didn’t travel to driblet maine astatine the airport. I ran, took a taxi and someway reached the airdrome connected time. When I reached Bangalore, nary 1 came to person and I didn’t cognize wherever to go. Hence, I hired taxi to driblet maine astatine Premier Studios, it was a three-hour drive.”

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The screenwriter-actor continued, “That taxi broke down thrice connected the way. It felt similar determination were ominous signs that ‘Don’t go, conscionable stop’. I didn’t know, it was a beingness relation for me! I reached connected the sets astatine 5pm successful the evening. Sanjay Khan was directing a Diwali scene. The extortion apical was excessively debased and it was a colony setup with hay each around. I told Khan sahab that we could person done this successful movie metropolis successful Mumbai also. He asked maine to spell spot a palace nearby, I came backmost aft a portion and was sitting outside, I wanted to spell to the edifice country and relax. With different 4-5 people, we reached the edifice and idiosyncratic told us, ‘Bahut badi aag lagg gayi hai acceptable par (There has been a large occurrence connected the set)’.”

Ananth further elaborated that helium went backmost and determination was a immense furious assemblage of villagers lasting outside. “I saw a heap of dormant bodies with truthful galore occurrence engines there. Someone asked maine to tally distant due to the fact that the assemblage mightiness spell mad. It was the astir traumatic nighttime for me. Next morning, the quality dispersed similar wildfire, but cipher knew if we were alive. We called our household and friends to fto them cognize that we were alive. Everyone told maine that you mislaid your occupation and your role, this volition ne'er beryllium revived. I was successful slump and didn’t cognize what to do.”

Around six months later, manager Akbar Khan, Sanjay’s brother, was going to nonstop and they were casting again. “Another person’s photograph was placed for my character. I went to Akbar’s location and told him that his member chose maine to play that role. He gave maine a vague reply but my photograph was instantly enactment up replacing the different actor,” helium remarked.

Talking astir Sanjay’s wellness information during that time, Ananth shared, “I went to the infirmary wherever helium was admitted and I saw him wrong done the ICU glass. They were doing surgeries to fig however overmuch helium tin beryllium treated. They changeable 25 episodes without him and Sanjay Khan’s introduction happened aft those six months. He got implicit the intelligence trauma, carnal trauma, the wounds, and represented himself arsenic Tipu Sultan,” and continued, “It requires a batch courage, helium managed to propulsion it disconnected arsenic 1 of the astir brave acts. He was burnt from apical to bottom, including his face. He had to beryllium admit for immoderate benignant of rehab, I met him aft helium came to Bombay. He roseate from the flames similar a phoenix.”