Entertainment Desk
Last Updated: 30 Jan 2026, 12:51 pm IST
From paralysis to perseverance, Arvind Swamy opens up about pain, healing and his remarkable return to life.
Arvind Swamy | Photos: Mathrubhumi Library
Once a dream star for generations of filmgoers, Arvind Swamy ruled the screen with films such as ‘Thalapathi’, ‘Roja’, ‘Bombay’, ‘Devaragam’ and ‘Minsara Kanavu’. But after 2000, he chose to step away from cinema, deciding instead to focus on business.
He took charge of his father’s venture, V D Swamy and Company, and later founded a company of his own. It was during this phase that an accident changed his life dramatically. In 2005, Swamy suffered a severe spinal injury that left him unable to move his legs. For nearly five years, he was confined to bed, enduring relentless medication and treatment before slowly finding his way back to life.
Recalling the ordeal at the Indian Film Festival held recently in Melbourne, Swamy spoke candidly about the accident, which led to partial paralysis. It was not just physical pain, he said, but deep emotional distress. “I was in constant agony. Losing mobility terrified my soul. But later I realised something—our ability to deal with pain and immobility largely lies in the mind. Facing helplessness is harder than facing pain,” he reflected. To keep despair at bay, he immersed himself in board games, puzzles and chess.
When doctors suggested surgery as a last attempt to help him walk again, fate intervened in another way. Swamy met an Ayurvedic doctor from Kerala. “That was when I placed my trust in Ayurveda. Within just three days, I began to walk. It shocked everyone,” he said.
After completing his treatment successfully, cinema came knocking once more. When Mani Ratnam approached him with an offer to act in Kadal, Swamy initially declined. “By then, I had been away from films for 13 years. I wasn’t mentally ready. I had gained a lot of weight and lost my hair,” he recalled. He eventually decided to come on board. He has also acted in the recently released Gandhi Talks.
Published: 30 Jan 2026, 12:27 pm IST
Subscribe to our NewsletterGet Latest Mathrubhumi Updates in EnglishFollow
Disclaimer: Kindly avoid objectionable, derogatory, unlawful and lewd comments, while responding to reports. Such comments are punishable under cyber laws. Please keep away from personal attacks. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of readers and not that of Mathrubhumi.