When Aamir Khan dismissed rumours about brain damage, heart attack: ‘Doctors confuse ho gaye’

Aamir Khan had to give an interview in 1994 to dismiss rumours about his health.

New Delhi | January 19, 2023 06:48 PM IST

4 min read

Aamir Khan had to dismiss rumours surrounding his health in 1994. (Photo: Express Archives)

Listen to this article

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Aamir Khan was a star soon after the release of his 1989 film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and in the 1990s, he was considered one of the top actors of Bollywood. But, with stardom comes a lot of gossip and Aamir too, had to confront a lot of strange rumours about him in those years. In 1994, there were rumours that Aamir’s health was suffering so he had to give an interview to clarify that he was hospitalised due to a bout of dizziness and not some grave illness.

In an old interview shared on Lehren’s YouTube channel, Aamir can be heard saying, “Aise kayi kahaniya ghoom rahi hain industry mein aur akhbaaro mein kayi jagah aaya hai ki mujhe brain damage ho gaya hai, mera heart attack ho chuka hai, main marne vala hun. Aisa kuch nahi hai, my heart is absolutely fine. (There have been a lot of rumours in the industry and the media saying that I have brain damage, I had a heart attack, I am dying. None of that is true, my heart is absolutely fine).”

The actor then clarified that he had a bout of dizziness because of which he was hospitalised for a few days. “Jo hua tha mujhe, mujhe chakkar aaya. Dizziness hui aur isliye mujhe hospital le gaye and hospital mein main 2-3 din raha jisme ki doctors confuse ho gaye the ki isko hua kya hai. Chakkar kyu aaya isko? (I got dizzy. I was taken to the hospital and was there for 2-3 days. The doctors were confused what had happened to me. What was the cause of the dizziness?)”

Also Read | When Akshay Kumar had to apologise to Abhishek Bachchan after Russell Peters called Aishwarya Rai ‘biggest example of bad acting’

Aamir Khan shared that a neurologist, cardiologist, ENT specialist were brought on board and they investigated for a few days and gave him an all-clear for his health. They asked him what he was doing for the last few days. “Maine unse kaha ki main 23 days at a stretch night shooting kar raha tha. Aur uss vajah se main so nahi raha tha theek se, raat bhar kaam karke din mein neend toh aati nahi hai. Khana waqt pe nahi khana. (I told them that I had been shooting for 23 nights at a stretch. I was working the whole night and couldn’t sleep much during the day. I wasn’t even eating on time),” he said. The doctors then concluded that the dizziness was a result of the strain that he was taking upon himself and advised him to take some rest for a few days.

He quipped, “Meri biwi ka kehna hai ki mujhe 2-3 din ki jagah 2-3 mahine aaram karna chahiye (My wife thinks that instead of 2-3 days, I should rest for 2-3 years.)”

Also Read | Anurag Kashyap on PM Modi cautioning BJP members to avoid ‘unnecessary remarks’ on films, actors: ‘Will not make any difference now’

In 2022, Aamir Khan announced a hiatus from movies after Laal Singh Chadha bombed at the box office. At an event in Delhi in November, he said, “When I am doing a film as an actor, I get so lost in that and nothing else happens in my life. Which is why I decided to take a break. I want to be with my family. With my mom, with my kids. I feel like I have been working for 35 years and I feel I have been single mindedly focused on my films and it is not fair for the people who are close to me.”

From the homepage