amitabh bachchan
learn [these] things had I not been through bad times. I would just let it remain as it is. Life for everybody is not going to be pleasant and it is not easy for everyone all the time. At times when I was very troubled, I used to go to my father and tell him, “Babuji, sangharsh bada karna parta hai jeevan mein.” (Father, one has to struggle a lot in life.) He would say, “Jab tak jeevan hai, tab tak sangharsh hai.” (While there is life, there is struggle.)’ In July 1982, Bachchan almost lost his life on the sets of Coolie (1983) during a fight sequence, when he fell from a blow delivered by co-actor Puneet Issar and ruptured his spleen. He was comatose and there was a brief moment in time when he was declared clinically dead. On the wings of prayers of his countless well-wishers, he survived to tell the tale. That battle between life and death is an example of his ability to persevere, to strive and battle against adversity. And yes, even death! ‘We know that tomorrow you may be at a certain place and the day after things can go wrong. I think it is more important to realize how to fight it and move on, rather than dwell on what has happened in the past,’ says Bachchan. Despite myasthenia gravis and other health issues, even today he is steadfast in his determination to accomplish all the tasks that come his way. His blog entry, when he was requested by the mayor of London to run with the Olympic torch and flag off the London Olympics, is an example of that never-say-die attitude: Uniformed in the dress code of the Olympics and briefed on protocol and procedure, I am asked to cover a distance of 300 meters at South-wark [sic] in the Borough of London starting around 10:50 a.m.—a moment to be hopefully remembered by the