Kannada actor Sanchari Vijay sustained serious injuries after he met with a road accident in Bengaluru on Saturday night. The National Award winner had gone out to buy medicines with his friend on a two-wheeler and the two were returning to the latter’s residence when the bike skidded and hit an electric pole at L&T South City, JP Nagar 7th Phase at 11.45 pm on Saturday, reports Times of India. Vijay was the pillion rider while his friend Naveen was riding the bike.
The actor is presently in a critical condition and is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Apollo Hospital in the city. He reportedly suffered injuries to his head and leg, while his friend Naveen fractured his leg. According to Deccan Herald, Vijay is on ventilator after he was operated upon for internal bleeding in his brain.
Neurosurgeon Dr Arun Nayak, who is treating the actor, told the media that the actor is in a critical state. “Sanchari Vijay was in a serious condition when we received him in the Emergency Department. A CT scan of the brain was done which showed very severe brain injury in addition to a subdural hematoma (brain bleeding). Immediate brain surgery was done to remove the brain haemorrhage; currently, he is in the Neuro ICU with full life support,” the doctor said. He further added that the actor is in a coma state and the next 48 hours are very critical. “We are monitoring his medical condition constantly and are providing him with the best possible treatment,” the neurosurgeon said.
Based on a complaint by Vijay’s brother Siddesh Kuma, who alleged that Naveen’s recklessness caused the accident, the police have registered a case against the friend.
Sanchari Vijay is a celebrated theatre artiste and actor in Karnataka. Although he works predominantly in Kannada cinema, the actor has done some Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films as well. His performance as a transgender person in the critically-acclaimed movie Naanu Avanalla…Avalu fetched him a National Award. The actor made his film debut in 2011, and before that he was part of a drama troupe called Sanchari which is also a popular cultural centre. He was last seen in the 2020 Kannada film ACT 1978.
One report stated that during the lockdown the actor provided oxygen to COVID-19 patients and also amplified information about the resources through his social media pages.