Here
Is
What
Had
Happened...
"While
the
shooting
for
Bhumika
(1977)
was
on,
Om
and
I
were
in
the
middle
of
dinner
when
Jaspal,
whom
I
had
kept
well
away
from
for
some
time
now,
also
entered
and
greeted
Om.
We
ignored
each
other
but,
eyes
fixed
on
me,
he
passed
to
sit
on
another
table
behind
me,
so
I
thought."
When
Naseeruddin
Shah
Was
Attacked...
"After
a
while,
I
was
reminded
of
his
presence
by
what
felt
like
a
short
sharp
punch
in
the
middle
of
my
back.
I
started
to
rise,
wearily
preparing
myself
for
another
free-for-all.
Before
I
could
move,
Om
with
a
strangled
cry
lunged
at
something
behind
me.''
''I
turned
to
see
Jaspal
holding
a
small
knife,
its
point
dripping
blood,
his
hand
raised
to
strike
again,
and
Om
and
two
others
grappling
to
subdue
him,"
he
narrates
the
episode
in
the
book.
When
Om
Puri
Jumped
To
Save
His
Life...
As
a
debilitated
Shah
struggled
with
pain,
Puri
dealt
with
Jaspal
and
argued
with
the
hotel
manager
who
refused
Shah
to
be
taken
to
the
hospital
until
the
police
arrived.
"Om
returned
to
inform
me
that
Jaspal
had
been
taken
to
the
kitchen
and
was
being
given
the
treatment.
He
wanted
to
take
me
to
a
doctor
but
was
thwarted
by
the
restaurant
staff
refusing
to
let
us
move
till
the
police
arrived."
What
Happened
Next...
"A
sizeable
crowd
had
collected
by
now,
the
muscle
in
my
back
was
beginning
to
go
into
spasm,
blood
was
soaking
my
shirt
back
and
had
begun
its
progress
down
my
trouser
seat,"
Shah
writes
in
the
book.
He
recalls
how
Puri
had
riled
the
policemen
by
climbing
into
the
police
van
without
permission
before
the
Ishqiya
actor
was
taken
to
the
hospital
in
a
bleeding
condition.
When
Om
Asked
The
Cops
To
Be
Gentle
With
Shah
"Om
made
the
cardinal
error
of
climbing
in
as
well
without
permission
and
managed
to
rile
the
boss-man,
thereby
asking
the
cops
to
be
gentle
with
me.''
''He
was
ordered
to
get
off
and
after
considerable
pleading
with
the
goon
in
charge
was
allowed
to
stay.
Neither
of
us
had
an
idea
where
we
were
headed
but
I
prayed
it
was
not
the
police
station."
When
They
Finally
Reached
The
Hospital...
"The
bleeding
had
not
seized,
the
pain
was
getting
intense
and
these
cops
obviously
had
not
quite
understood
the
situation.
After
a
few
cursory
questions
to
us,
and
some
garbled
transmissions
over
the
radio
in
Marathi,
we
arrived
at
Cooper
Hospital
in
Juhu,"
the
memoir
notes.