‘I Could've Gotten Killed’: Shatrughan Sinha Reveals How A Fan Rescued Him In New York

Shatrughan Sinha has lived many lives on screen, but one terrifying moment off camera still stays with him decades later. The veteran actor recently revisited a frightening experience from a trip to New York, one where he genuinely feared for his life, only to be unexpectedly rescued by a fan who recognised him from his Punjabi film Putt Jattan De.

In a conversation with Aaj Tak, Sinha spoke about the incident, which took place during a time when mugging was rampant in New York. He recalled staying at the Radisson Hotel and heading out late at night after being invited for dinner at a friend’s place. “I was staying at the Radisson Hotel in New York. After dinner, she suggested she would drop me back. It was the peak era of mugging in the city.

It was around 1 am, and the area was completely deserted. She dropped me a little ahead of the Radisson Hotel and said, ‘That’s the hotel, you can walk from here.’ I agreed,” he said.

However, what seemed like a short walk quickly turned into a nightmare. “I got down, and I was carrying a shopping bag filled with items, basically everything that could attract a mugger. I was alone on the street, and there was complete silence,” he added.

Sinha said panic set in soon after his friend drove away. “After my friend left, I realised it wasn’t the hotel. All the buildings there look the same, and I became extremely nervous. I genuinely felt that this could be the night something terrible would happen. I thought, ‘This could be the night I get killed.’” He went on to describe an unsettling interaction with a passerby. “A black man was walking by, and I asked him which side the Radisson Hotel was on. He just said, ‘Get lost.’ It was around 2 am by then.”

The actor admitted that fear had completely taken over when a car slowly approached him. “Suddenly, a car started approaching while I stood there, almost waiting for my death on that dark street,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is it. This is my end.’”

What followed, however, was entirely unexpected. “The car reversed, and then I heard a voice from inside ask, ‘Putt Jattan De?’ The person then said, ‘Stop right there.’” According to Sinha, the driver immediately realised the danger he was in. “The driver asked me, ‘What are you doing here? You could get killed. This is unbelievable.’”

Moments later, help arrived in numbers. “He used his radio, and soon about 20–25 cars arrived. They were all our people from Punjab, our Sikh brothers. They surrounded me from all sides and told me not to panic. They said, ‘This is a very dangerous area, but we recognised you.’ They then safely dropped me at my hotel,” Sinha recalled.

When he tried to thank them financially, the response was emotional. “They said, ‘Not at all. You are our hero. You are Putt Jattan De.’ I never saw them again after that.”

During the same interaction, Shatrughan Sinha also reflected on his close bond with Dharmendra, who played a key role in his decision to do Putt Jattan De. “We did many films together and were very close friends. If he was doing a film, it was almost necessary for me to be part of it. I always respected his word,” he said, adding, “In fact, he and his friend Baldev Khosa were making Putt Jattan De. It was a Punjabi film, and I did it at his insistence.”

Their friendship dates back decades. One of Sinha’s earliest films, Pyar Hi Pyar, featured Dharmendra in the lead, with Sinha in a small negative role. Even years later, the bond remains intact. Just last month, during Dharmendra’s health scare, Sinha paid a visit to Hema Malini and the family.