Movie Star Hospitalized in Mumbai

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan is recovering following a recent hospitalization. The actor, known for roles in titles including Adipurush and Dil Chahta Hai, was admitted to Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Monday, Jan. 22. Although initial reports said the actor was hospitalized due to a fractured knee and shoulder, more recent reports suggest he was hospitalized in order to undergo surgery for an old injury to his elbow. He has since been released from the hospital.

The Economic Times reported that Khan arrived at the Mumbai hospital with his wife, actress Kareena Kapoor Khan, at around 8 a.m. local time Monday. Neither Khan nor his wife commented on his hospitalization at the time, though a source later revealed, per the Hindustan Times, that the actor was admitted to the hospital Monday for elbow surgery. The source said Khan was “doing well.” The actor was released from the hospital Tuesday and was photographed wearing an arm sling as he returned home at his wife’s side.

Khan reportedly initially suffered the elbow injury during filming for the Vishal Bhardwaj-directed Rangoon in 2017. Opening up about his hospitalization Tuesday, Khan explained that he initially neglected the injury and his tricep had been aching for a long time, per The Indian Express, the actor explaining, “other times it caused unbearable pain… I didn’t really know how serious the injury was.” He said he re-injured his arm while performing action sequences for Koratala Siva’s Telugu movie Devara, and while he continued working, initially believing he was fine, the pain eventually worsened and doing anything strenuous caused him significant pain.

Khan said he ultimately had an MRI done, which revealed “that the tricep’s tendon was torn very badly, barely holding in place like a rubber band which can snap at any moment.” He finished portions of Devara and other commitments before scheduling surgery. He revealed that even medical professionals were unaware of just how bad the injury was until surgery, sharing, “When they opened up the arm-and there is quite a big cut where they opened it up-they realized the surgery was very badly needed.” He said doctors “cleaned it up, removed the fluid, sorted out the nerve as well as stitched up the tricep so wonderfully. I must say the doctors in charge were brilliant. They made some incisions in the bone and re-attached the tendon with a kind of anchor with dissolvable material that blends into the bone and heals the whole arm perfectly.”

Khan, who also criticized the misinformation surrounding his hospitalization in those early reports, is now taking some time away to recover. The Indian Express reported the actor is taking a month-long break to recover. He is next set to appear in Devara, a Telugu film that also stars Jr NTR and Janhvi Kapoor.