Prabhudheva Temporarily Paralyzed:  “Forget Dance , I Thought I’d Never Walk Again”

The condition of temporary paralysis that struck Prabhudheva last week while he was shooting a song for the tri-lingual Tamil-Hindi-Telugu  horror-spoof  film Tutak Tutak Tutiya has gifted him with an extra sense of humour.

“Other actors get injured while doing action. I got hurt while dancing,” Prabhu jokes, though the injury while it lasted, was extremely grave,

“I couldn’t move! I was complete paralyzed. I don’t know what happened. But suddenly during one of the dance movements I felt something give way in my back.And before I knew it I was down on the floor where my feet were supposed to be,” recalls Prabhu with a  shudder.

So serious was his condition that he though he would never walk again. “Forget dancing, I though I was not going to get up on  my feet again.I was rushed immobile to the hospital by my friend, co-star and producer Sonu Sood’s friend.”

In  hospital Prabhu was told he had pulled a muscle severely and that it was a temporary condition. “I was really relieved to hear that. They took care of my back.But for five hours I was in unbearable pain.I couldn’t move at all. I was thinking about what life would be like without movement.And it was scary.”

Prabhu has now taken a decision to be careful about his dance movements. “I’ve always been pushing the boundaries of dancing, trying out new steps and moves all the time. No style was taboo for me. All my body parts have been used to dance. Maybe now I need to be more careful about how the body is flexed during dancing. Because what happened during the shooting of Tutak Tutak Tutiya amounts to protest from my nervous system to stop pushing the body.”

Though back on his feet Prabhu’s body movements took time to be  normal. “I was back on the sets because we had to complete a song. But my hands wouldn’t go up to where the dance steps required them to.”

Prabhu says his predicament during shooting is a warning to all those actors who push themselves beyond endurance. “Whether it is fights, dance or emotional scenes,please don’t overdo them. Nothing is worth one’s health. When I was on the floor my life flashed through my head. I though of my two sons’ future. That’s when I decided I will be careful in future.”