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Over the years, the Indian film and television industry has seen a vast change on its own. Be it in terms of grandeur or budget, the television shows have grown in scale over the years. Now, their budgets are also being compared to big Bollywood films. But, to your surprise, there were a few television shows during the 90s and 2000s that were made on a humongous budget. Yes, you read that right. The 1990 historical drama titled The Sword of Tipu Sultan, which was based on Bhagwan Gidwani’s historical novel, was one of the most expensive Indian television shows made at the time.
The mahurat for the 52-part serial that was held at the Lalit Mahal Palace estimated to cost over Rs 4 crore and everything about the serial was done in epic proportions. Directed by Sanjay Khan and his brother Akbar Khan, the show was based on the life and rule of the medieval ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sultan. The Sword of Tipu Sultan starred a number of artists, including Sanjay, Deepika Chikhalia, Shahbaz Khan, Ananth Mahadevan, Mukesh Rishi, Kanwaljeet Singh, Tom Alter, Kunika, Shriram Lagoo, and Satyen Kappu.
However, it will be shocking for you that despite the grandeur, The Sword of Tipu Sultan is being remembered for a deadly accident that took place on the shooting set at Premier Studios in Mysore on February 8, 1989. Due to faulty wiring and unavailability of firefighting equipment, a devastating blaze swept through the sets killing 62 crew and cast members. This unfortunate incident eventually led to the halt of the production for a long time. The families of all the victims were given an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5000 as compensation.
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The lead actor Sanjay Khan had to spend 13 months in hospital as was highly injured with a lot of burns. The actor-director underwent a total of 72 surgeries over the next year. During this time his brother Akbar took over the direction of the show. Later in an interview with Hindustan Times, the actor had said, “We never imagined that such a disaster could happen. We were horrified. I was outside the studio with my writers when I heard the commotion and went to check [on it]. There was fire everywhere. I shouted, ‘Open the barn doors’. But something hit me on the head. The rest is history.”
In another interview, Sanjay Khan had revealed that the doctors had given him a 10% chance of survival. However, he improved after Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi sent doctors from Delhi for his treatment. Though the doctors had advised Sanjay Khan to quit acting after recovery, the actor continued to work post recovery.
Despite all odds, Sanjay Khan along with his brother managed to finish the shoot and The Sword of Tipu Sultan was finally aired in February 1990 . With a huge amount of appreciation, the show aired till April 1991. The show gained such popularity that it was dubbed in Telugu, Bengali, and Tamil and the reruns were telecast in the UK, Iran, Indonesia, and Mauritius.
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