Mumbai: Bollywood’s brawny icon Salman Khan laid bare a harrowing chapter of his life on Twinkle Khanna and Kajol’s debut chat show, “Two Much,” revealing how he endured trigeminal neuralgia — the so-called “suicide disease”— for seven and a half agonising years.
Joined by Aamir Khan, the superstar recounted the excruciating facial pain that struck during the 2007 filming of Partner with Lara Dutta, when a mere brush of hair from her hand ignited the torment.
“It started right there on set. I exclaimed, ‘Wow, Lara, you’re truly exceptional!’ But that pain… you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy,” Salman shared, his voice heavy with memory. The condition, often triggered by nerve compression, brought stabbing shocks every 4-5 minutes, turning simple tasks into ordeals.
Breakfast stretched to 90 minutes as he forced down an omelette, self-inflicting bites to escape the agony. Painkillers – up to 750mg daily – offered scant relief, though a drink or two dulled the edge temporarily.
Misdiagnosed as a dental issue at first, the relentless episodes pushed Salman to gamma knife surgery in 2011, a gruelling eight-hour procedure with screws fixed to his face. Doctors predicted a 20-30% reduction in pain, but Salman attributed his complete recovery to the intervention. Yet, Salman battles on with brain aneurysm and arteriovenous malformation, conditions he first disclosed on The Great Indian Kapil Show in June.
Opening up to raise awareness – noting its high suicide rates among sufferers – Salman urged, “Many live with it silently. Treatment is possible now.”
His resilience, filming blockbusters amid the strife, inspires millions, proving the ‘Bhai’ of Bollywood unbreakable.