Over a year after Farzi (2023), Bhuvan Arora has returned with the Kartik Aaryan-led Chandu Champion, in which he plays a boxer. While such a role can be demanding for any actor, Arora considers it his riskiest to date. Reason? Kabir Khan’s directorial venture left him with a 50 per cent damaged eardrum. The incident happened in Mumbai, on the second last day of his shoot.

“I was shooting for a boxing sequence. Accidentally, one of my co-actors hit me in the face and it hurt me hard. I didn’t shoot for the next few hours. I thought [the pain] was momentary, but later, I felt something irritating my left ear,” he recalls.

When the pain and discomfort continued for a few days, Arora consulted a specialist. “When I went to my ENT, he told me I had damaged 50 per cent of my eardrum. I didn’t realize it initially, because my [right] ear was working fine. I had to undergo treatment for a while. I was told if the eardrum doesn’t repair itself in six weeks, I would require a reconstruction surgery. Thankfully, six weeks later, it had healed a fair bit. So, the doctor decided against surgery.”

The actor considers it miraculous that his left ear healed and he regained full hearing ability. He knows it could have been catastrophic otherwise. “For an actor, hearing is a big part of the job requirement. I was worried about going deaf; it was emotionally challenging. I went for regular check-ups. I have learnt to never take my health for granted.”