Kannada Action Film Tragedy: Are Bollywood Stuntmen Any Safer?

Are Bollywood stuntmen better off than their counterparts in regional films?

Kannada actor Raghava Uday (L); Salman Khan with his body double on the sets of Sultan. (Photos courtesy: Twitter)

The tragic death of the two Kannada actors Raghava Uday and Anil on Monday while performing an action sequence at the Thippagondanahalli lake near Bangalore has put the spotlight on the precautions (or lack of it) taken to ensure the safety of stuntmen in the film industry.

The last time that a tragic news regarding a Bollywood stuntman made it to the headlines was when Shailendra Singh Bisht slipped and fell 40-feet down while performing a stunt at the inauguration of a new mall in Noida in 2012. Evidently there was no safety net at the site as a precautionary measure while the daredevil act was being performed.

Does the absence of the news about any major injury or death of stuntmen in Bollywood over the last few years indicate that the film industry is seriously taking an initiative to be careful while action sequences are performed?

Prakash Sudarshan, an actor and action expert who also trains actors for action sequences in films, says that the degree of safety and precautions available on the set of a Bollywood film depends on the production house involved. “There are no mandatory safety regulations followed nor are there any standard precautionary measures that are put in place across each and every film. It varies from film to film depending on the producer,” says Prakash.

The martial arts expert also reveals that, “There are a few action directors who are only concerned about what they are getting out of a shot. If they find it difficult to arrange for any safety to ensure that no untoward accidents happen during a shot, they are ready to go without it.”

What Prakash is hinting at is that -the loss of a day’s shoot in the film industry would easily mean a loss of several lakhs even for a small-time producer. In such cases, the pressure to get a shot canned could override the necessity to ensure that a stuntman is well covered for.

But he also believes that things are changing for the better. “There was a time when during a stunt scene, only if something went wrong would an ambulance be called or a doctor be summoned to treat the injured person. Fortunately, doctors are now part of the team and an ambulance will be in place, especially for the big production houses, to see that immediate medical attention is given. But again this does not happen on every shoot.”

Action director Sham Kaushal with Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone on the sets of Bajirao Mastani. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

Noted action director Sham Kaushal (Dangal, Bajirao Mastani, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Krrish 3), believes that the death of the two Kannada actors while shooting is a rarity. “What I read is that the actors drowned because the motorboat, which was kept on standby to pick them up after they jumped into the water, did not start, the generator of the motorboat failed. This is a matter of chance,” says Kaushal.

“India is one of the biggest producers of films in the world, there are so many film shoots that happen here every day. There are so many action sequences being filmed here across the country each day, but rarely do you hear of an accident like this, which tells you that we do not take unnecessary risks on the set and do take precautions.”

As an action director, Kaushal feels that it is his responsibility to ensure that his stuntmen are safe. He says that he will not go ahead and shoot a sequence if he felt that there is even a slight chance of it causing harm to his crew due to the absence of safety measures.

While the issue of the safety of stuntmen at work has got priority in Bollywood’s scheme of things, what’s still missing is the provision of insurance for these daredevils. Akshay Kumar had taken up the cause recently and spoke about it during the promotions of his film Housefull 3 earlier this year.

Safety is not great here (in Bollywood). Now finally we have ambulance and doctors on the sets for the stuntman and the cast and crew. (However) it’s surprising that there are no insurance for stuntman in Bollywood, so we are all trying to get an insurance done for stuntmen.

Akshay Kumar

Shah Rukh Khan with his stunt double on the sets of Fan. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

Though there is a Movie Stunts Artists’ Association in place, it may not be strong enough to even get a minimal contract going with producers which can ensure that basic safety precautions are made available on every shoot irrespective of the producer involved. The compensation given to a stuntman in case of an accident is again agreed upon mutually and not set in a contract.

“If there is an injury, the person is admitted to the best hospital and till the man does not recover, there is a mutual understanding between the association and the producer that the producer will pay him for a certain amount of working days. There is also an amount which the association contributes from their side,” says Kaushal.

It’s shocking that given the dangers involved and the lack of proper contracts and welfare provisions put in place, a stuntman reportedly gets just about Rs 3,000 to Rs 8,000 for a day’s work. One hopes that Thippagondanahalli tragedy will bring much needed attention for the betterment of this much-ignored bunch of unsung heroes.