New Delhi: Sanjay Khan was considered one of the most handsome actors of Bollywood. He gave many hit films in his career. His debut film 'Haqiqat' also won the National Award. Apart from acting, he was also a well-known director.

Sanjay Khan played the character of Tipu Sultan

Apart from this, he also worked a lot in the world of TV. Even today people remember him for 'Jai Hanuman' and 'The Sword of Tipu Sultan'. This TV show proved to be a milestone in Sanjay Khan's career. Sanjay Khan himself directed this show and also played the character of Tipu Sultan.

However, remembering the horrific accident that happened during the shooting of Tipu Sultan can send chills down one's spine even today. During this time, many people lost their lives and even Sanjay Khan himself had a narrow escape from death.

Many crew members lost their lives

Actually, on 8 February 1989, a massive fire broke out at Premier Studio Mysore, where the show was being shot. Fire brigade was not available for safety on the set, due to which 52 crew members lost their lives.

Sanjay Khan suffered third degree burns. He was burnt up to 65 percent. He had to spend 13 months in the hospital and had to undergo a total of 73 surgeries.

God was stopping me from going - Anant

Anant Mahadevan was also a part of the show The Sword of Tipu Sultan. He played the role of Pandit Purnaiya. Now in an interview, the actor recalled this entire incident and shared other information. Anant Mahadevan said in a conversation with Siddharth Kannan -

The shooting was going on in a studio in Mysore

He further said that while going from the airport to the studio, his car broke down three times as if it was a sign from God that he was not going there. However, he ignored all these things and moved ahead. Sanjay Khan was directing a Diwali scene. The roof was very low and it was a village-like setup and there was grass all around. I wanted to go to the hotel room and rest when 4-5 people came to me and told me that a huge fire had broken out on the set.

Sanjay completed the shooting after coming back

Anant said, "I saw a lot of dead bodies lying there and a lot of fire engines. This was the most painful night for me. Anant told that everything was destroyed and the whole set was in ruins." Sanjay Khan was taken to the hospital where he was kept in the ICU. He underwent several surgeries. When Sanjay Khan returned after recovering completely after 6 months, he had completed the shoot of 'The Sword of Tipu Sultan'. We had shot 25 episodes without him. Sanjay Kapoor has also written about this incident in his biography 'The Best Mistake of My Life'.