Vikram recalls not being able to walk for four years after accident, doctors wanting to cut his leg off: ‘Life has been a struggle from the day I was born’

Actor Vikram looked back on the struggles that he faced early in his career, when a serious injury left him contemplating whether he’d even be able to walk again. When he was a child, Vikram was injured in a motorcycle accident, which left him unable to walk for four years. He underwent over 20 surgeries, and bounced back to achieve his dreams of becoming a star. In a recent interview, Vikram revealed that when she first met him, his wife thought that he had delusions of grandeur because even though he was on crutches, he’d claimed that he was going to become a superstar one day.

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, he was asked about the many difficulties he faced even before his career, and Vikram recalled, “My life has been a struggle from the day I was born,” he said. He continued, “I had an accident, I was bedridden for three years, I was on crutches for one year, I didn’t walk for four years. I had 23 surgeries. They wanted to cut my leg. Then I struggled for 10 years to get a film, do it on my own, and every film of mine would have 20 people in the audience. I wanted somebody to recognise me, to say that I can be an actor…”

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He said that his ‘worst nightmare’ is his life turning out to be a dream. Vikram reluctantly shared what his wife thought about him when they first met. “I was on crutches at the time, everyone knew I couldn’t walk. And I told her I’m going to be a superstar. Later, she told me that she thought I had delusions of grandeur,” he said. Vikram also recalled playing background artists early in his career, and then dubbing for other stars in Tamil versions of their films.

Vikram has said in past interviews that he was wheelchair-bound because of the accident, and that he was given only 2% chance of full recovery. The actor was most recently seen in the Tamil-language film Thangalaan, directed by Pa  Ranjith and c0-starring Malavika Mohanan. The movie completed its theatrical run in Tamil Nadu, and was released in Hindi-speaking regions on Friday.