Big B in hospital since Tuesday, to be discharged in a day or two: sources

Mumbai: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was admitted to hospital this week for a routine check-up and will be discharged in a day or two, sources at the Nanavati Hospital in suburban Mumbai said on Friday.

Reports of Bachchan, who turned 77 on October 11, suffering a liver problem have been doing the rounds but the sources claimed there is no truth in that.

“Mr Bachchan came to the hospital on Tuesday for a routine check-up. Reports about liver problem and all of that are not true. He is doing fine. He is hale and hearty. He should be discharged in a day or two. The family has requested for privacy and we hope that remains,” a hospital insider told PTI.

The source declined to comment when asked about the nature of the check-up.

The actor is currently hosting “Kaun Banega Crorepati” that airs on Sony Entertainment Channel.

“He has already shot for few episodes and we have a bank of episodes ready. Hence he did not come for shoot. He will resume shoot from Tuesday,” a Sony official said.

On the work front, Big B has four films in his kitty – “Gulabo Sitabo”, “Brahmastra”, “Chehre” and “Jhund”.

Bachchan’s health has been a matter of concern for years, ever since 1982 when he suffered near-fatal injuries during the shooting of “Coolie”.

In February last year, he was briefly hospitalised for pain in the lower back, spine and neck and in March he fell sick while shooting for “Thugs of Hindostaan” in Jodhpur. At the time, he informed his fans that he had flown in a team of doctors to “fiddle with his body” and set it up again.

He opened up about his injuries during “Coolie” and the aftermath during an event in 2015.

“One of my blood donors was carrying the Hepatitis B virus which went into my system. I continued to function normally till the year 2000 and almost 18 years after the accident, during a very normal medical checkup, I was told that my liver was infected and I had lost 75 percent of my liver,” he said.

The actor said the virus had just been discovered but at the time there was “no sufficient screening for it to be detected in the donor’s blood”.

“I was carrying the virus that was slowly damaging my liver for 18 years after which I began treatment and I continue to take medication even today. So, if I am standing here today, you are looking at a person who is surviving with 25 percent of liver. That is the bad part. The good part is you can survive even with 12 per cent. But no one wants to get to that stage.”

In 2005, Bachchan underwent an intestinal surgery at the Lilavati hospital.