Hyderabad: Salman Khan, the Bollywood actor and top superstar known for countless blockbuster movies, is considered one of the pillars of the legendary Khan trio. He recently shared one of the most difficult phases of his life on Two Much, a new talk show hosted by Twinkle Khanna and Kajol.
Appearing alongside Aamir Khan, Salman spoke openly about living with trigeminal neuralgia, a condition he described as so painful that he “would not wish it even on his biggest enemy.”
He joined the show as a guest with actor Aamir Khan. The show will premiere on Thursday.
Talking about how the pain made his everyday activities tough, Salman shared, “You’ve got to live with it. There are a lot of people living with bypass surgeries, heart conditions, and many more. When I had trigeminal neuralgia, that pain used to be… You would not want your biggest enemy to have that pain. I had it for seven-and-a-half years. It used to pain every 4-5 minutes. It would happen suddenly, while talking… It used to take me about an hour and a half to have my breakfast, and I used to go straight to dinner. For an omelet, because, I couldn’t chew it, I had to force myself, hurt myself, take as much pain, so I could get rid of the meal.”
First Pain on Partner Set
Salman revealed that his first experience of the disease happened while shooting Partner (2007). Lara Dutta removed a strand of hair from his face, and he suddenly felt a shocking pain. Jokingly he said, “I was doing Partner. Lara was there. She removed a strand of hair on my face and I felt pain. I joked that ‘Wow Lara, you’re electrifying!’ That’s when it started.”
Years of Unbearable Pain
The actor endured the disorder for seven and a half years. The pain struck every four to five minutes, making basic tasks almost impossible. He recalled that it took him one and a half hours to finish breakfast, and he would often skip straight to dinner. Even 750 mg of painkillers did not help, though he admitted the pain reduced slightly after “a drink or two.”
The ‘Suicidal Disease’
Trigeminal neuralgia, often called the “suicidal disease,” is a chronic nerve condition causing sudden electric-shock-like pain in the face. Many mistake it for dental problems, as happened with Salman in the beginning.
In 2011, Salman underwent an eight-hour gamma knife surgery that finally relieved him of the constant pain. However, he continues to live with an aneurysm and an arteriovenous malformation. Despite these challenges, Salman remains unstoppable, hosting Bigg Boss 19 and shooting his war drama Battle of Galwan.
