Mumbai: The way Saif Ali Khan walked out of the hospital five days after emergency surgeries, including on his spine, have led to questions whether he was actually stabbed in the spine by an intruder in his Bandra home last week.
A debate has broken out on the genuineness of the attack, with some political leaders wondering whether Saif was ‘acting’, while others dismissed conspiracy theories and praised the actor’s bravery.
Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane remarked that Saif, who was discharged from Lilavati Hospital on Tuesday, was “dancing while walking” back to his residence.
Referring to the arrest of a Bangladeshi man accused of attacking Saif, Rane said he may have entered the actor’s residence to “take him away”.
“Look at what Bangladeshis are doing in Mumbai. They entered Saif Ali Khan’s house. Earlier they used to stand at the crossings of the roads, now they have started entering houses. Maybe he came to take him (Saif) away. It is good, garbage should be taken away,” Rane mocked, taking a potshot at illegal immigration.
The minister remarked that the way Saif comfortably walked in to his home after being discharged from the hospital raised doubts.
“I saw when he came out of the hospital, I doubted whether he had been stabbed or he was acting. He was dancing while walking. Whenever any Khan like Shah Rukh Khan or Saif Ali Khan gets hurt, everyone starts talking about it. When a Hindu actor like Sushant Singh Rajput is tortured, no one comes forward to say anything,” Rane said.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam expressed doubts over Saif’s quick recovery in five days after being multiple times at his residence in the early hours of January 16.
Saif, who underwent a six-hour-long surgery, had a 2.5-inch knife head removed from his spine.
‘Jumping and dancing his way home’
“Has the medical sector progressed so much that Saif Ali Khan comes to his home jumping and dancing (after the attack)… It should be revealed how deadly the attack was and how badly he was injured. The family should come forward and disclose this because, after this incident, such an atmosphere was created in Mumbai that the law and order of Mumbai has collapsed, the Home Ministry has failed, the Maharashtra government has been ruined, and every citizen in Mumbai is unsafe,” Nirupam said.
“The way Saif came out (of the hospital), it seems as if nothing happened 4 days ago… I want to ask the doctors, can a person whose operation lasted for 6 hours come out in such good shape within 4 days?” the Shiv Sena leader added.
Some of the critics were surprised that seven-year-old Taimur accompanied his father to the hospital. The other questions being raised are — why is there no CCTV footage from inside Saif and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s apartment and why are no bloodstains visible on the attacker’s clothes after the violent attack which left Saif bleeding profusely?
Pooja Bhatt, Shaina come out in Saif’s support
Backing Saif, actor and director Pooja Bhatt slammed the “conspiracy theorists”.
“The graphic details of the stabbing that emerged in the media painted an image in people’s heads about Saif’s physical state. That image was perhaps not in sync with the visuals of seeing him walk out of hospital on his own two feet,” the ‘Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin’ actor said in an interview with ETimes.
Pooja added that Saif has shown courage and set an example for others.
“But don’t these very people forget that they lauded him for walking himself into the hospital as well? A man who checks himself into the hospital in a wounded, traumatised condition surely has the grit to walk out of the hospital on his own. We should be applauding this instead of resorting to being conspiracy theories,” she said.
Shaina NC, leader of Shiv Sena, took a jibe at “certain people of the political class” who were questioning the integrity of Mumbai Police.
“Just because Saif Ali Khan walked in like a lion with a knife near his spine and his 8-year-old son, he has proudly walked out like a tiger. Instead of being happy for him and the fact that his life got saved, I don’t know what the media and certain people of the political class are doing by questioning the integrity of the police force. Let’s talk about safety measures in this high-profile case,” Shaina said.
Speedy recovery highly possible, says doctor
A Bengaluru-based cardiologist was not surprised that Saif walked out normally a few days after surgery to treat a spine injury.
Dr Deepak Krishnamurthy shared on X how Saif’s speedy recovery was highly possible.
“For people doubting if Saif Ali Khan really had a spine surgery (funnily even some doctors!). This is a video of my mother from 2022 at the age of 78y, walking with a fractured foot in a cast and a spine surgery on the same evening when spine surgery was done. A younger fit person can recover even faster. For doctors who are doubting Saif’s recovery… all I want to tell you is to get better exposure,” Dr Deepak wrote along with the video clip.
“What Saif had was only a cerebrospinal fluid leak and a tear in dura mater (a thick membrane that protects the brain and spinal cord), which was repaired. Nowadays, people who have had cardiac bypass surgeries walk and climb stairs on 3rd 4th day! Please educate yourselves about things before coming on social media and proudly displaying your ignorance! Talk to experts, read up and learn,” the cardiologist explained.
