The body always tells you. During a shoot for ‘Single Salma’ in Lucknow, I felt unusually tired and a strange lump in my throat after an intense action sequence. I sat down for a bit, brushed it off, and told myself I’m fine. But something felt off. Around that time, singer KK passed away after suddenly falling ill during a performance. That shook all of us, made us think about health.

I decided to visit a doctor. I went for an ECG and 2D echo and both tests came back normal. I didn’t ignore it, but I didn’t dig deeper. I just assumed everything was fine.

It wasn’t. Months later, in December 2023, I faced a major cardiac episode that would transform my life in ways I hadn’t imagined. I was only in my mid-40s. But physically and emotionally, it changed everything for me. Physically, there are certain precautions I will have to take throughout my life to make sure something like that never happens again. I need to take regular medication, go for follow-ups and checkups, and listen to my doctors.

Emotionally, the impact has been even more profound. I had none of the four risk factors that trigger a heart attack — smoking, drinking, diabetes or hypertension — yet it happened. It brought realization about how uncertain life can be.

But there are many things within our control, and we must take care of those aspects. After an experience like that, you realize your priorities need to change. Your family becomes your number one priority. And to ensure they get quality time with you, you must take care of yourself. That also means sleeping well, for seven-eight hours daily, exercising four to five days a week and eating nutritious, timely meals.

By proper diet, I don’t mean surviving just on salads. I eat everything in moderation. I avoid fried and sugary foods, but I do consume a little ghee. Eating nutritious food is important, but eating on time is even more crucial. Maintain fixed timings for your meals. Have dinner as early as possible as it gives your stomach enough time to digest and rest. The best diet won’t help if your meal timings are erratic.

My earlier discipline of clean eating and regular workouts played a big role in my recovery. I do think the Covid vaccine and post-pandemic health effects may have triggered complications. Still, my active lifestyle helped me bounce back faster. It’s important to understand that nutrition, regular exercise, good sleep and a balanced diet strengthen your body. If it had not been for these habits, things could have been very different. Your body repays the care you give it.

Stress is a part of life. That said, I also believe that we need to learn to manage it. You have to learn to let go of what’s not in your control. I’ve realized that wisdom comes with time, but when someone shares their learnings with you, it is important to listen. Don’t wait for your own crisis to teach you the same thing the hard way.

When you have an ensemble cast of 17 performing together, it can result in either chaos or fun. Shreyas Talpade, who is a part of Welcome To The Jungle, says it’s equal amount of both on their set. The third instalment of the Welcome franchise stars Akshay Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Arshad Warsi, Lara Dutta, Disha Patani, Paresh Rawal, Johnny Lever, Rajpal Yadav, Tusshar Kapoor and Krushna Abhishek, among others. How do you ensure a smooth shoot with so many ideas and suggestions flying around? Talpade credits director Ahmed Khan for it.

“All of us get ready in the morning, and ask Ahmed what we are doing that day. He reads out the entire scene, then everybody improvises. Ahmed listens to everyone and says, ‘This is good, remember to do this later.’ But eventually, he does what he wants,” says the actor.

“When 17-18 of us are performing, we wonder whether [the scene is landing]. But the sequences turn out hilarious because Ahmed knows what he is doing. We have surrendered ourselves to him.”

After joining the comic caper last December, Talpade had suffered a near-fatal heart attack. Following the health scare, the actor feels grateful for the love his collaborators shower on him during the shoot. He shares, “Akki bhai and Ahmed are always checking on me. Disha would greet me with a tight hug; she treats me like an elder brother. They all are sweet. Even today, wherever I go, the first thing I am asked is, ‘How is your health? Are you doing good?’”

Speaking up on his health, Shreyas Talpade has said that his recent heart attack could be a side effect of the COVID-19 vaccine. On December 14, last year, Shreyas suffered a heart attack in Mumbai following the shoot of an upcoming film. He was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai, where he underwent angioplasty.

In an interview to an entertainment portal, the actor said, “I don’t smoke. I’m not really a regular drinker, I drink perhaps once a month. No tobacco, yes, my cholesterol was a little high, which I was told is normal these days. I was taking medication for that. So, if all the factors – no diabetes, no blood pressure, nothing, then what could be the reason?”

About his apprehensions that a vaccine caused his health issues, Shreyas said, “It was only after the COVID-19 vaccination that I started experiencing some fatigue. There has to be some amount of truth, and we cannot negate the theory. Maybe it is COVID or the vaccine, but there is something associated post that... It is unfortunate because we don’t know what we have taken inside our bodies.”

After a lengthy shoot for his new film Welcome To The Jungle, Shreyas Talpade unwinds in his vanity van while eating his home-cooked lunch before we can begin our special shoot for International Day of Happiness. The actor is back at work after a long break as he suffered a near-fatal heart attack in December 2023. Over the years, he has made people smile by playing comic roles in projects like the Golmaal franchise, Apna Sapna Money Money (2006), Housefull 2 (2012) and more. After going through a life-changing ordeal, he’s now learning to be happy again.

The 48-year-old explains, “Earlier, my definition of happiness was a smile on my face, but now, it’s more to do with how content I am. You could be in different places around the world, and you won’t be happy. But at times, you are sitting in the comfort of your home and are happy. After what I’ve gone through, I’m grateful for whatever is offered to me.”

Shreyas believes he is living on “bonus time”. “Every single moment I am on Earth, is a bonus for me. I better be happy about it. What should I ask God for? He gave me the best gift ever — the gift of life, not once but twice. First, when my mum picked me up in her arms and second, when my wife (Deepti Talpade, actor) rushed to save me,” says the actor adding, “I wasn’t aware of what was happening. She was living it.”

Returning to set was a joyful moment for him as everyone was “happy to see” him. “People are talked about and get more love after they are gone. I’m fortunate to experience this when sI am alive,” he ends.

Actor Akshay Kumar, 56, proved that he was a true friend when actor Shreyas Talpade, 48, suffered a heart attack in December 2023. He was the first one to visit him in the hospital and kept checking in with Shreyas’ wife, actor Deepti Talpade. Sharing how concerned the OMG 2 (2023) actor was for Shreyas’ well-being, his wife had high praise for Akshay.

“When the news broke [about the heart attack], Shreyas’ director Ahmed Khan (who is helming Welcome To The Jungle) and his wife came to the hospital at 11 pm at night. They were with me [the entire time]. Akshay Kumar kept calling me and asked, ‘Deepti should we shift him? You tell, we will shift him to a different hospital.’ He again called me in the morning and said, ‘Let me please see him for two minutes. I just want to see him.’ I said, ‘You can come whenever you want.’ Hindi and Marathi film industry was there that day for us,” she told ABP’s Majha Katta in an interview. The actors have worked together in Joker and Housefull 2 (both 2012).

We had earlier reported that Shreyas had been shooting for a new film, when he reached home, he began to feel uneasy in his chest, and collapsed. His wife was with him and rushed him to a hospital in Mumbai.

After being rushed to Andheri’s Bellevue hospital, where he was treated for a lethal cardiac arrest on December 14, Shreyas Talpade is now at home, resting and recuperating. He admits his revival was nothing short of a miracle. The 48-year-old actor is grateful to God, his doctors, well-wishers and most importantly his wife Deepti, who showed immense presence of mind and took timely measures to snatch her husband from the jaws of death. The ordeal, however, was more than a wake-up call for the actor. It was a terrible reminder of how we often take our life and time for granted with minimal attention to preventive care. Excerpts…

For the past two and a half years I have been working nonstop and travelling extensively for my films, Pushpa (lends his voice for the main character in Hindi) or shows. However, for the last few months, I was feeling extremely fatigued. It was slightly unusual but since I was working nonstop, I thought I was just a little exhausted which is normal. I loved what I was doing so I kept going. Of course, I got myself checked. I got an ECG, 2D Echo, sonography and blood tests done. My cholesterol was high, and I was taking medication for that. I’ve had a family history of heart ailments, which is why I was taking precautions.

Elaborating on what happened on the day of his acute cardiac arrest, the Housefull 2 actor shares, “We were shooting in Mumbai at the SRPF grounds close to Jogeshwari for Ahmed Khan’s Welcome To The Jungle. We were doing army training sequences like swinging on a rope, falling into the water and everything was going smoothly.”

Shreyas adds, “Suddenly, after the last shot, I felt breathless, and my left hand started paining. I could barely walk to my vanity van and change my clothes. I thought it was a muscle pull since we were shooting action sequences. You don’t think of the worst-case scenario, right? I had never experienced this kind of fatigue.”

He shares, “As soon as I got into the car, I felt I should head straight to the hospital, but thought I should go home first. My wife, Deepti, saw me in that state and within 10 minutes, we were on our way to the hospital. We were almost there and could see the hospital gate, but the entry was barricaded, and we had to take a U-turn. The very next moment my face went numb, and I passed out. That was a cardiac arrest. My heart had stopped beating for those few minutes. Deepti couldn’t get out of the car from her side of the door as we were stuck in traffic, so she climbed over me and got to the other side to call for help. A few people came to our rescue and rushed me inside. The doctors did CPR, electrical shock, that’s how they revived me.”

The actor, whose two main arteries were blocked (one 100% and the other 99), has had a stent placed through angioplasty. He says, “Once I regained my senses, the doctors told me that I smiled at them and conveyed sorry to my wife for putting her through this ordeal. I was kept under observation for five days. Now, I am taking one day at a time and resting it out. The doctors said post six weeks I can get back to work. My producers told me to take it easy, too. I just want to relax now, be with family for now, spend time with my daughter, watch some films and read books. When something like this happens, your family suffers the most. I can now imagine what Mr Bachchan and his family may have gone through when he suffered a near-fatal injury on the sets of Coolie (1982).

"I was never hospitalized before in my life, not even for a fracture so I didn’t see this coming. Don’t take your health for granted. Times are so uncertain that you must give extreme importance to your health. If that falls apart, nothing else matters. Jaan hai toh Jahaan hai. An experience like this changes your perspective towards life. I started doing theatre at 16, became a professional actor at 20. For the past 28 years, I have just been focusing on my career. We take our families for granted. We think we have time. As a nation we are not high on preventive care. I have seen my parents and their generation ignoring their health, too. We work hard for our survival but is it worth it? If you are not alive what’s the point of it anyway?"

"I want to tell this to everyone. Somewhere, our body always gives us these signals, please listen to them. Do not ignore them. Communicate with your doctor better. Some people often skip doctor visits thinking, ‘Yeh koi test karne bolenge’. But you never know how helpful those tests could be. While there has been no evidence per se, I’ve heard post covid, many cases involving healthy young people have encountered heart issues. I was down with covid in 2020. Just get yourself checked, why waste time? I don’t smoke at all, drink scarcely once a month perhaps, follow healthy diet and exercise but don’t let this overlook the warning signs that your body gives you."

Having survived this near-death experience, Shreyas feels immense gratitude for having got a second chance at life. “Clinically, I was dead. It was a massive cardiac arrest. A wake-up call would be an understatement. This is my second chance at life! I cannot tell you how thankful I am to everyone who played a role in saving my life. And, of course, my superwoman wife, who did everything she could in her capacity to save me. She is the reason we are talking today. It was overwhelming to receive this sort of love and care. These people gave me a second life and it’s a debt I can never repay, Ahmed Khan and his wife, Akki bhai, my friends and family have been visiting me at home," he tells us.