Habib Mithiborwala working out. Picture by Gajanan Dudhalkar

Mumbai, July 26: He was caught in the deluge, robbed and mistakenly declared dead, all on the same day. It’s been a year since 26/7, but Habib Mithiborwala’s memories of those harrowing hours are as vivid as if it were yesterday.

The 24-year-old actor says he knew nothing about pain and suffering till the deluge hit Mumbai last year and made him a better human being.

“I was stuck in my car unconscious for more than 12 hours,” he recalls. “I suffered from what is medically called ‘compartment syndrome’. I had no sensation below my waist and in my hands, but now I am better with physiotherapy. But I still have to visit the doctor every two months.”

The actor who played Nakul in the Star One show Remix was on his way home from work when he got stuck in his car amid the swirling waters.

He remained unconscious for over 12 hours. When he came to, he managed to open the door. But he collapsed again in the murky water and soon fainted, but not before he had been robbed of his wallet that had his credit cards.

“Four men robbed me, but at least they had the decency to drop me at a nearby hospital. The nurse apparently took one look at me and declared me dead. It was when the senior doctor arrived that I was revived,” says Habib.

The doctors wanted to amputate his legs to prevent gangrene, but the young actor implored them not to, as it would have ended his career.

“I told them I would get better without my legs being cut off. I couldn’t take it any more. I was a happy-go-lucky guy with no fear of the future and suddenly God had made me face this. I had to prove the doctors wrong.”

“I have no sensation in my legs, so nothing hurts me there. I can play and dance a little.”

His anger towards the administration hasn’t ebbed, though.

“My brothers complained to police about the theft. Yet there has been no word from the government. I don’t want compensation, but they could at least have paid my hospital bills. My father has had to take loans to pay my bills. I can only imagine the plight of those who don’t have the support system I had.”

Habib says the experience has made him more aware of the common man’s misfortunes.

“Earlier I was the star; now I am just Habib. Showbiz is short-lived. Out of the 40 bottles of blood I needed, only three came from the television industry. Now I have very few friends.

“I have been reborn. Today, I am a one-year-old.”