4 min readNew DelhiJan 29, 2026 12:48 PM IST
Arvind Swamy became a pan-India star way before the term was used in mainstream cinema with films like Roja and Bombay back in the early 1990s. But unlike the pan-India stars today, Arvind was very selective about his films and only picked projects he was truly passionate about. But, in 2005, Arvind suffered from a spinal injury that left him partially paralysed and the mental and physical toll of that injury pushed him away from movies. In a recent chat held during the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Arvind opened up about that phase of his life and shared that the injury left him in immense pain for almost a year and a half, because he chose not to have a surgery. But things turned around when he met an Ayurvedic practitioner as he started walking in just three days after starting his treatment with him. Arvind pointed out that while it worked for him, he will not recommend it to everyone, instead they should follow medical advice given to them.
Arvind recalled that he was bed ridden after his injury in 2005 and shared, “This happened for a year and half only because I made a choice not to have surgery.” Arvind shared that as he made up his mind about surgery and agreed to get it done, he met an Ayurvedic practitioner from Kerala. As per his own admission, he was always surrounded by people who believed in allopathy so he “never thought of Ayurveda as an option.”
“For one and a half years, I was in a lot of pain and my mobility was affected but in three days, he made me walk. It worked for me. I am not saying you should make choices based on my choices. I am just saying that this worked for me,” he said and insisted that this was his personal experience with Ayurveda, which must not influence others who might be in a similar position. He said that there is an “ancient wisdom” in Ayurveda which worked for him and added, “There is a lot of wisdom in allopathy also and it has also worked for me.”
Arvind said that this period of 18 months was more of a mental struggle than physical struggle. “Because the ability to be able to deal with pain and immobility, I think, it is all in the mind, to a large extent,” he said and added that he did not allow himself to wonder, “Why me?” He kept his mental faculties active by playing board games, puzzles and chess, which allowed his mind to get tired at the end of each day.
Arvind said that after he started getting better, he didn’t want to push too hard as he was “happy I was mobile, and pain free, and I didn’t want to go on to the next path.” Arvind said that since his kids were too young and he was a single father, he wanted to weigh his options before taking the next step. In the midst of this, Mani Ratnam approached him for a film, Kadal.
“It had been 13 years. I never thought I would do a film again. I told him I am not physically well. Because of a lot of medication, I had put on a lot of weight and lost my hair. I was not ready for acting,” he shared and recalled that after some mental and physical preparation, he jumped into the project. The film did not do very well at the box office but it brought Arvind back to the silver screen.
Arvind will next be seen in Gandhi Talks.
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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.
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