Many may not remember him by his name but his picture will definitely make many get nostalgic. Dan Dhanoa played a villain in many movies although his looks could very well qualify for the hero's role. But in reality, he has managed to defeat a villain that we all are battling presently - COVID-19. In a chat with Hindustan Times, he revealed how he contracted the disease and how he was cured. It's a tale that will give hope to a lot of people. The former villain switched lanes and became a sailor. His oil and gas exploration ship got stuck off Brazil's Rio De Janeiro. That's where he got contracted the illness.  COVID-19 Crisis: Amitabh Bachchan Is Distributing 2000 Food Packets to Daily Wage Workers and the Needy On a Regular Basis

Speaking to HT, Dan said, "I suspect it was some service vendor, possibly an asymptomatic carrier, who brought the virus on board. I am told that 18-20 people tested positive, after I was hospitalized. My mother is 94 and all my relatives are old. I did not want panic back home. Nandita (his wife) stood by me like the Rock of Gibraltar." He was discharged on April 17. He is in quarantine in a hotel after getting treated for 17 days in a hospital.

When asked about when did he feel something was wrong with him, Dan recalled, "I had a running nose just for a day, and the next day I started getting a headache and fever. Initially, only my forehead would ache. I thought my sinuses were playing up, but the pain started shifting all over my head. It was like a cluster headache with pinpricks that would make me twitch. No cough nor shortness of breath, but my appetite died and I started feeling weak. Also, there was stiffness in my chest and lower back. That’s when I asked to be evacuated ashore on a chopper."

He further added, "At the hospital, the swab test results arrived after four days. They found that my breathing was affected. A CT scan showed fibrosis in around 10-15 percent of my lungs. I was rushed to the ICU for a week, before being shifted to a normal quarantine ward. Now, I have to remain in this hotel for two weeks, to get my strength back."

It wasn't so easy to cope with it when you are so many miles away from home and family. But he fought it and won. "I was worried that I’m in a foreign country and don’t speak Portuguese, the local language. But I’m a mariner. And having steered giant oil tankers for years, I’m trained to look ahead," he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2020 03:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).