As TV channels beamed images of a pale, shawl clad Amitabh Bachchan being taken on a stretcher in Mumbai, India sat up and took note. It was hard to see the man who smiled at them in every second advertisement appearing on the idiot box in a state like that.

For Big B, along with Sachin, represents a triumph of will. They are symbolic of what Indians can achieve despite immense setbacks. Nobody in India matches them as role models to millions of Indians. To see one such in so much pain was hard to believe. It brought back memories of another day (1983), when an accidental punch from Puneet Ishar had seriously injured Big B.

In November, when on a private visit to Allahabad and Hardwar, Big B complained of stomach pain. He was admitted in Delhi's Escorts hospital, where doctors said it could be a case of food poisoning. But he was soon flown to Mumbai and doctors at Lilavati diagnosed him with an acute case of colitis. Called Diverticulitis, it is swelling of the small intestine resulting is formation of pouches in the colon. He was subsequently operated upon.

But for his legions of fans and well-wishers, it was a throwback to older times.

The outpouring of love was there to be seen as people made a beeline to the hospital. For fans, this was their icon's trying time. For business, it meant anxiety as it is estimated that anyway from Rs 100 crore to Rs 270 crore has been invested in his films!