On March 25, 2012, Charu Khandal, the 28-year-old animator working with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd , was out with her friends to celebrate her team’s proud moment—the National Award for special effects for RA.One.
After the party, she, her sister Ritu Khandal, and friend Vikrant Goel, boarded a rickshaw when a speeding car rammed their vehicle. Charu suffered serious injuries to her head and spine and was left paralysed. She was to get engaged next month.
On March 28 last year, SRK visited Charu and promised to help her financially. One year later, Charu can just about move her neck and wrists. But the Khandal family is bogged down by the hospital bills.
Charu’s sister, who was in the rickshaw with her at the time of the accident and managed to get away with minor injuries, says: “My dad, a private tutor in Rajasthan, is the sole bread-winner of the family. He had to take a loan of Rs 12 lakh for Charu’s treatment. After Shah Rukh Khan spoke to the hospital authorities, Charu was given VIP treatment. SRK had promised to take care of the finances and his company did pay around Rs 8-10 lakh initally. But since then, we have been trying to reach him, but no one puts us through to him.”
The family has even started a campaign on Facebook to raise money for Charu’s treatment. Sitting in their modest one-room-kitchen in Versova, Charu’s mother Pawan recalled: “We were even conned of around Rs 3 lakh by various people, claiming to cure her.”
Still, Charu is happy that Red Chillies has not yet replaced her. “When I visited the office (in a wheelchair), I was happy to see the office is still waiting for me to get back to work.”
Her boyfriend, Sagar Thakkar, is still by her side, waiting to get married to her.
When contacted, an official from Red Chillies said: “SRK has been away. We moved office and there have been changes in our teams as well. Thank you for bringing this to our notice. We stand by our promise and will look into it rightaway.”
