Actor-filmmaker Sanjay Khan suffered a major setback in 1989 when a devastating fire broke out at Premier Studios in Mysore during the filming of The Sword of Tipu Sultan. The blaze, attributed to inadequate firefighting equipment and ignored safety protocols, claimed the lives of 52 crew members. Sanjay himself sustained severe injuries, suffering over 65% third-degree burns and undergoing 74 surgeries during his recovery. In a recent interview, actor Zayed Khan opened up about the emotional and financial aftermath of his father’s accident.
During a conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his podcast, the Main Hoon Na actor recalled asking for his parents’ permission to get admission in a boarding school to lighten their emotional burden after the accident. “Dad’s fire accident happened at that time. There was a lot of difficulty in the house. I saw my mother and sisters in a condition which was very disturbing and hurtful for me. I only thought if I can do something to help them. I asked them if I can go to a boarding school, because they were overwhelmed with how many people to take care of,” he said.
The actor continued, “We weren’t in a very good position. A lot of people passed away in that accident. There was no insurance at that time, so the family was extremely burdened financially. I just thought that the best thing I could do is take off my burden by going to boarding school. We took autos, sold cars, and our house was mortgaged. You truly see who your friends are at that time. We never hold resentment against anybody. We bought better cars after that and got the house back!”
Recalling the first time he saw his father in the hospital after the incident, Zayed shared, “It was very tough. I was only 11 years old. When he was brought to another hospital after a month, I went to see him. I was dying to see him. There were two beds in the ICU, both burnt victims. I passed the first bed, thinking my father is on the second bed, but he called me from behind. It was him. I looked and said, ‘That’s not my father.’ I went closer and saw a man who is burnt. His head was like a football, and his skin was melting on the sheet. I just remember looking at him. Imagine where that guy is coming from when he is looking at me, he didn’t even see himself in the mirror as yet. But, he held my hand and said, ‘Zayed, are you scared?’ I didn’t have words to say at that point of time.”
However, his father Sanjay Khan’s words gave him a lot of inspiration. “He said, ‘Don’t be. Before you know it, I will make a better hospital like this so that people like me don’t have to come here and you don’t have to come and see me like this.’ He also said that I’ll make Tipu Sultan again and we will have a great time son. He said something so impossible at that time. All the doctors said he was going to die. I was so confused at that time ki aise kaise hosakta hai ki yeh soch bhi raha hai that I am going to come out of this. Men at that time had hearts of steel.”
“Anyone could have said their goodbyes. Two years later, after about 74 surgeries, completed Tipu Sultan, then he took me to Bangalore to show me a land he bought there. He gave me a brick and reminded me of the hospital, hotel I told you about, let’s make it here. This is the foundation bridge, what do you want to call it? I said Golden Palms, he said done and made that hotel. I have seen impossible become possible,” Zayed added.
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On the work front, Zayed Khan is set to make a comeback with an OTT film titled The Film That Never Was.
