Krazzy 4 director Jaideep Sen opens up on turning to crowdfunding for heart transplant surgery FilmyMeet

Jaideep Sen, director of the 2008 release Krazzy 4 is currently suffering from a heart defect named HOCM (Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy) and is in need of a heart transplant. Unable to afford it, he has turned to crowdfunding. “This year, I have been hospitalised twice – in Feb and May. I missed death narrowly the latter time and I had to be put on ventilator for three days. My cardiologist has told me that I need the heart transplant as there’s no other way out,” he shares.

The director adds that he has had the defect since 2011, which he got to know after he collapsed in Rakesh Roshan’s office while working with him on Krrish 3. He has an ICB (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) implanted in his chest for 13 years, that gives shock to his heart whenever its heart rate goes up, protecting him from sudden death. He informs, “Currently I am on number 1 on the recipient list in Mumbai. But the cost of the surgery is ₹35 lakhs and I have been asked to keep a contingency of ₹15 lakhs more. As per hospital policy, they can confirm me for the surgery only after the entire ₹35 lakh is deposited. My savings are miniscule compared to the amount I need. Unfortunately, in our industry, unless you become a successful brand, you are always underpaid.”

However, the director informs that the industry has stepped up to help him in this situation of need. “Almost everybody in the industry has gotten to know about me and some of them have come forward in contributing whatever they feel comfortable with. You cannot put up a figure in front of anyone, it’s about their generosity. So, whatever comes from their heart, I accept that gratefully.”

Sen insists that since Krazzy 4, he hasn’t been offered much work in Bollywood, but TV has been his saviour. “In the last 13 years, there have been so many phases where I had no work, and it was so frustrating. The reality of the film industry is such that often genius bhookhe reh jate hain, aur gadhe gulab jamun khate hain. I am a living example of that. So many directors have made failed films, yet they have got so much work after that with big stars. But for some strange reason, something didn’t allow me to get work. At times, I tell people that I feel like I committed a murder by making a film which didn’t do well at the box office. I am completely at the bottom of the ladder,” he says.