Big B shot stunts for TV show in body rig?

Mumbai, June 7 (IANS) Megastar Amitabh Bachchan's fiction debut on the small screen with the series "Yudh" just got a lot more dangerous. The actor is said to have defied medical orders to perform some forbidden stunts in a body rig.

It's been 30 years since the Big B wore a body rig for any of his stunts in a film. After the accident on the sets of "Coolie" in 1982 and the beating that his body took, the veteran star was forbidden from wearing the heavy body rigs required for cinematic stunts.

Until now. For the serial "Yudh" that he is doing, Amitabh agreed to wear a body rig for a very intricate stunt.

A source said: "It was an important scene where Bachchan saab's character Yudhishthir Sikarwar had to confront an important crisis in his life. The director Ribhu Dasgputa had been told by the Big B's team that he wouldn't be wearing the body rig. The last time he wore one was for 'Coolie' when the near-fatal accident happened.

"The director was trying to find a way out of the situation when the Big B, realizing how important the stunts with the body rig were, took an impromptu decision, slipped on the body rig and went right ahead with the stunts."

The director said: "During the briefing for the scene, I wanted to do something that would create a certain atmosphere of intrigue around the protagonist's character. For this, sir (Amitabh) was required to wear a body rig.

"Being a thorough professional, he agreed to wear the body rig although he knew that the action would require him to carry the weight of the heavy metal rig along with the camera. I guess they just don't make actors like sir anymore."

"Yudh" will air on Sony Entertainment Television.