60 constables watching, Bachchan discharged

Amitabh Bachchan was discharged from the Lilavati Hospital at Bandra on Saturday morning. Accompanied by children Abhishek and Shweta, and close friends Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, industrialist Anil Ambani and Sahara chief Subroto Roy, he looked pale and weak; though he greeted the media with folded hands and waved several times.

Then he left in his Range Rover, followed by a convoy of cars, for his Juhu bungalow. Preparations for Bachchan’s exit from Lilavati began on Friday night as the family moved his belongings to Juhu. A mock discharge was also conducted to ensure there was no trouble the next day.

On Saturday morning, security was beefed up. The entire street, leading away from the hospital, was teeming with 60 constables and eight senior officers. Both the main gates were blocked, and patients, even those on wheelchairs, were asked to use the emergency entrance.

The 63-year-old actor spent 20 days at Lilavati Hospital after being flown in from Delhi’s Escorts Hospital on November 28. He had complained of severe stomach pain and was operated on for diverticulitis of the small intestine two days later.