Pahlaj Nihalani Warns About Order-From-Home Food : “I’ve Been Rescued From The Jaws Of Death.”

Producer-director Pahlaj Nihalani has returned home from  hospital  after  28 days  of  hanging on a thread between  life  and death. And it  wasn’t Covid.

“I didn’t tell  anyone  about it. Only my family knew. And Shatrughan Sinhaji who is family. This   journalist called  up every one in my family repeatedly until  he got  the truth. That’s how everyone came to know .Otherwise  who cares in this  industry whether you live or die , specially during these times when life has become so uncertain,” says  Pahlajji, a veteran  producer and former  chairperson  of the censorboard, sounding frail.

So what  happened? “Around a month ago  I  was at home alone. Even my wife was away. When suddenly one  evening, on May  7,  some  members  of the  unit for a film that we made during the  pandemic, dropped in. It  was  late .And I had to order for them from outside. My food was cooked at home. I   never eat  outside. But there wasn’t enough for everyone.So we ordered food. Chicken is the  only non-vegetarian  item I  eat, so they  urged me  to join them. Out of politeness I agreed. The minute I bit into  the  chicken I  knew something was  wrong. But the others  assured me it was okay. So we ate. They left. After a while I felt  uneasy and vomited.I felt  okay after that.So I just tried to sleep.At  around 3 am I  vomited a  whole lot of blood. That’s when I panicked and  called my son.Luckily he  stays  in the same  building.”

From  this point in the nightmarish experience, Pahlajji’s family took over. “They called our doctor, and he  advised that  I be taken to the hospital immediately. I  was  at  Nanavati  hospital for  the  next 28 days.No one was allowed to visit me  because of the pandemic.  I spoke to  my wife  on video calls.”

Pahlajji is thankful to his doctor, specially   Dr Jayant Barve. “Within hours  all my tests were done. I was  lucky. Anyone with  a  less caring family and less attentive  medical team  would  have died. I’ve been pulled  out of the jaws of death.”

Now all  his well-wishers are wondering if it was  Covid.  “No, it wasn’t that. I  got Covid  in April 2020. I recovered at home. This  was  much more serious. I was  hospitalized for the  first time in  my life. No one knew  if I’d  come  out  alive. I survived  because God and my family were  with me.”

Weak but  resolute, Pahlajji intends  to take  strong legal action against the  eatery that  served him his near-lethal meal  on that fateful night.  “It could have  been  the last  meal of my life. Everyone who  ate that night was ill. But I was  hit the hardest. I urge  everyone to  have only home-cooked meals in these  hard times.”