Dr Kafeel Khan thanks Shah Rukh Khan, Atlee for depicting 2017 Gorakhpur tragedy | Bollywood

Those who have watched Jawan can’t help but be moved by the track of Sanya Malhotra. She plays a doctor who tries to resolve lack of oxygen supply at a government hospital, that leads to the death of 63 children, but gets jailed when the government gets her arrested for dereliction of duty. It seems like director Atlee has taken a page out of real life, as a reference to Dr. Kafeel Khan’s fate in the 2017 Gorakhpur hospital tragedy. Now, Kafeel has acknowledged the same and thanked the director and producer-actor Shah Rukh Khan. (Also Read: Guess the link between Jawan and Om Shanti Om? It’s the ‘Shah Rukh Khan avenging Deepika Padukone’ cinematic universe)

Kafeel Khan’s note of gratitude

Dr. Kafeel Khan took to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday and posted a video, thanking the makers of Jawan for depicting an incident similar to the one he encountered. He also clarified that he hasn’t watched the film yet, but has been getting messages and wishes about the same since the release.

Kafeel wrote in Hindi, “I haven’t seen Jawan but people have been messaging me saying they missed you (namaste emoji) There is a lot of difference between the film world and real life. The culprits in the army, health minister etc. get punished But here I and those 81 families are still wandering for justice (sad and prayer emojis) Thank you @iamsrk sir and @Atlee_dir sir for raising the social issue (thumbs up emoji).”

About Kafeel Khan

Dr. Kafeel is a doctor and a former lecturer at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur. When he discovered the oxygen supply at the government hospital has been cut off due to non-payment of dues, he tried his best to bring the authorities’ attention to the issue. When they failed to deliver, he managed to procure oxygen supply at his own expense. However, in the meantime, 63 kids died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome. Later, the Uttar Pradesh government denied the cause being lack of oxygen supply, and instead got Kafeel jailed for dereliction of duty.

Dr. Kafeel Khan also wrote a book that released in 2021. The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy: A Doctor’s Memory of a Deadly Medical Crisis detailed the incidents of the 2017 event.