Actor Rajesh Sharma, a familiar face in both Hindi and Bengali cinema who is currently in the spotlight for his upcoming film Haiwaan, has finally cleared the air on a health scare that had triggered plenty of concern among fans earlier this year. For weeks, reports suggested that a venomous insect bite suffered on the sets of Prabhas's much-anticipated film Fauji had left him hospitalised, but the actor now says that version of events simply is not true.
How the insect bite story first surfaced
The claim traces back to July, when actress and television host Sudipa Chatterjee shared a press note on Rajesh Sharma's behalf describing a frightening on-set incident. The note said that while Fauji was being filmed in a densely overgrown, bushy stretch inside Ramoji Film City, a poisonous spider had bitten the actor. It further claimed that within a few hours he developed severe pain in his right leg and began feeling unwell, and that by the time he reached Kolkata he was running a high fever and finding it hard to breathe, which led to his admission at Manipal Hospital.
Rajesh Sharma reveals the real medical reason
In a recent conversation with NDTV, Rajesh Sharma laid out what he says actually happened. He explained that he had been battling a long-standing skin problem on his right leg, and that this untreated condition eventually turned into an infection. To complicate things further, his diabetes levels had shot up around the same time, and the combination pushed what could have been a manageable issue into a genuine medical emergency. He admitted he did not take the early warning signs seriously enough, and by the time he sought proper attention, the problem had already escalated.
He was clear that nothing like an insect or spider bite happened anywhere on the Fauji set. According to him, he had no health complaints at all during the Hyderabad shoot schedule, and it was only a day or two after he flew back to Kolkata that his condition suddenly worsened, a timeline that fits with a slow-building infection rather than a sudden bite.
Prabhas and the film unit are not to blame, says actor
Rajesh Sharma was equally firm about protecting the reputation of everyone connected to Fauji. He insisted there was no lapse or fault on the part of either Prabhas or the film's production unit, and that it would be wrong to hold them responsible for a health issue that surfaced only after he had already left the shoot location. He described Prabhas and the rest of the unit as good people who did not deserve to be caught up in a controversy that had nothing to do with them.
The actor defends Sudipa Chatterjee too
He was also quick to defend Sudipa Chatterjee over the original press note she had circulated in July. Rajesh Sharma said she is a close friend who shared the update purely out of worry for his health, but that she had been given inaccurate information at the time, which is why her note described a version of events that does not match what he says actually happened.
Recovery underway, Haiwaan release just days away
Talking about his current health, Rajesh Sharma said his treatment is now complete and that he is recovering at a fast pace. He expects to be back on set and resume regular work within about a week. On the work front, he will next be seen in Haiwaan, directed by Priyadarshan, a film that also stars Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar and Saiyami Kher in important roles and is scheduled for a theatrical release on September 11. Prabhas, meanwhile, continues to juggle Fauji alongside another major project, Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Spirit.
