Remember the hilarious scene in Farah Khan’s 2007 blockbuster reincarnation saga Om Shanti Om, where Shah Rukh Khan is wrestling with a fake tiger? Back in the 1970s, top stars of Hindi cinema actually did stunts with a real, untrained tiger, often putting their lives on the line. These stars include Amitabh Bachchan and his late, legendary Sholay co-star Dharmendra.
In interview with Hindi Rush, veteran action master Mohan Baggad recalled, “I did a stunt for Amitabh Bachchan in Khoon Pasina, which had a tiger. The original stunt guy for Amit ji had a dark complexion. So, the makers thought it wouldn’t work. The director asked Veeru Devgan (action director) if one of his team members can do it instead. He asked me if I would do it. I said yes though I was scared since it was with a tiger.”
“I was asked not to face the tiger. If it hit me with its paw, it could mutilate my face! After doing a few shots, I got used to it. So, I did the scene for the next two to three days. When Amit ji saw me, he also got the encouragement and said, ‘I’d do the scene too,'” added Mohan.
He revealed that Bachchan’s motivation actually stemmed from him receiving the news that he’d become father to Abhishek Bachchan that day on February 5, 1976. “We were shooting in Kandivali, and he got a call saying, ‘Aap ke ghar mein ladka paida hua hai.’ So, he said, ‘Ye sher hai toh main bhi sher hu. Mere ghar pe ek sher paida hua hai.‘ So, he also gave some nice shots.”
Mohan Baggad said that while he did take on the tiger in Khoon Pasina, there came a point during the shoot when the tiger took him down so aggressively that his head hit the ground, and he fainted. He also faced another setback while doing an action scene with a tiger for Amitabh Bachchan in another film, Rakesh Kumar’s 1979 action comedy Mr. Natwarlal.
“The tiger hit me with its paw, so I still have injury marks on my face. Another friend of mine even got 10-12 stitches,” said Mohan. “The tigers weren’t trained. Only their mouths were stitched. But since they’d get angry by that, they’d attack everyone,” he added.
Mohan Baggad also recalled another star who was known for performing dangerous animal sequences without relying on a stunt doubl, Dharmendra. “Dharmendra shot the scenes with the leopard himself in Kartavya. He would not use duplicates,” revealed Mohan, referring to Mohan Segal’s 1979 action film.
