Ex-Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani has said he'll sue the eatery from where he had ordered food which led him to getting hospitalised for 28 days. "The minute I bit into their chicken I knew something was wrong...At around 3 am...I vomited a whole lot of blood," he added. "I've been pulled out of jaws of death," he further said. Speaking about his ordeal, the veteran producer said, “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, especially 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.””Pahlaj Nihalani’s closest friend from the film industry, Shatrughan Sinha was informed about the filmmaker’s hospitalization. "Shatru visited me in the hospital, recently. We had largely kept it private," the filmmaker revealed. During a chat with the outlet, he expressed his gratitude towards the staff at the hospital for looking after him. He also explained how difficult it was for him to recover and elaborated on the details of his experience. Nihalani had a controversial two year tenure as as the CBFC boss. In 2017, he was sacked from his post and was replaced by Lyricist and screenplay writer Prasoon Joshi.