When Arvind Swamy Revealed Ayurveda 'Made Him Walk' After 18 Months Of Partial Paralysis

Arvind Swamy, who has always been selective about his projects, became a household name with his Hindi films Roja and Bombay in the early 1990s. The actor suffered a spinal injury that left him partially paralysed in 2005. He became bedridden and was compelled to stay away from films for a long period.

Last year, during a chat at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Arvind Swamy opened up about how he was in immense pain for 18 months and chose not to have surgery. Before things took an ugly turn, Swamy found an Ayurvedic practitioner from Kerala who made him walk "in three days."

The actor asserted that he's not endorsing Ayurvedic medicine just because it worked for him. He instead requested his fans and followers to follow the medical advice given to them.

A year ago, while speaking to Gulf News, Swamy admitted that he was 'partially paralysed.'

When Arvind Swamy Met the Practitioner, He Made Up His Mind for Surgery

"For one and a half years, I was in a lot of pain and my mobility was affected, but in three days, he made me walk. It worked for me. I'm not saying you should make choices based on my choices. I'm just saying that this worked for me," Swamy said, asserting that people in a similar position should not follow this just because he benefited from it," said Swamy.

He said there is "ancient wisdom" in Ayurveda, which worked for him, and added, "There is a lot of wisdom in allopathy too, and it has also worked for me."

Arvind Struggled with Pain for 18 Months

More than physical pain, Swamy battled mental pain during those 18 months.

"Because the ability to deal with pain and immobility—I think—is all in the mind, to a large extent," he said. He added that he did not allow himself to wonder, "Why me?"

Swamy kept himself occupied by playing board games, puzzles, and chess.

As he started recovering, he didn't want to push himself further.

Swamy said that after he started getting better, he didn't want to push too hard as he was "happy". "I was mobile, pain-free, and I didn't want to go on to the next path."

Arvind's children were young, and as a single father, he had too much on his plate. So he didn't want to take on the burden until Mani Ratnam came up with the film Kadal.

"It had been 13 years. I never thought I would do a film again. I told him I wasn't physically well. Because of a lot of medication, I had put on a lot of weight and lost my hair. I wasn't ready for acting," Swamy recalled.

The project he took up after the break didn't work well at the box office, but it brought him back to the silver screen.

Arvind Swamy will next be seen in Gandhi Talks. He will share screen space with Vijay Sethupathi and Aditi Rao Hydari in the film. Directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, it releases in theatres tomorrow.