A cruel oversight

The unfortunate incident of stuntmen losing their lives in Karnataka during a shoot has once again highlighted the callousness behind the scenes.

Filmmakers can be miserly

When it comes to stunts, filmmakers and producers are generally a bit miserly. From the video that’s circulating, it is clear that they didn’t take enough precautionary measures. They could have at least thrown some rope, ladder or floater from the helicopter. I feel the filmmakers wanted to save money and time, so tried to do a fast job. What I fail to understand is, how can producers not pay enough attention to the safety of the fighters After all, stunts are such an important part of high budget films. Bollywood in comparison to other Indian film industries, I think, is much safer.

Geeta Tandon

(Stuntwoman)

Travesty of safety Though accidents can happen even when there are safety precautions in place, what happened in Bengaluru was a travesty of safety. In 1993, I first got stunt equipment from London for a film, and since then, safety equipment has advanced in leaps and bounds. For those men to have jumped into the lake without life jackets is shocking. Tinu Verma (Stunt director, worked on films Border, Shootout at Wadala and Baazigar)

Stop the blame game Sometimes accidents take place even with the best preventive measures. Tomorrow if something goes wrong in Bollywood, then Hollywood can also say such things about us. This sets a negative and wrong perspective. In Bollywood, it's always the action director who takes the call. If the budget is high, the stunts are more dangerous. Precautions are obviously the primary concern. Allan Amin (Stunt director)

Celebs recall dangerous stunts

Akshay Kumar

Risks during action scenes come with the territory. You can’t be doing stunts and not expect an element of danger. I remember, during the shooting of Garam Masala, I banged my head against a wooden cabinet, which lead to profuse bleeding.There was panic on the sets, and everyone thought it was far more serious than what it actually was.

Kamal Haasan

I spun out of control on a hurling motorbike and crashed into a roof during a stunt sequence for Mumbai Express. The pillion, a little boy, and I had a providential escape. It’s time we stopped doing unreasonably dangerous things. Today, it’s the hospital, tomorrow it could be the morgue.

During the shooting of Punnagai Mannan (dubbed as Dance Master in Telugu), the three harnesses with which I was hanging mid-air snapped and I fell to the ground. Everyone thought I’d be dead or crippled. Luckily, I got away with torn ligaments and bruises. Then again, during the film Kaligan, I did an action scene in a subway. It was a relatively easy sequence. But a car sped up and hit me on my spine. I landed on top of the car. Then, when it halted, I went under the wheel. I dislocated my jaw, my nose was cracked and I had three fractures. I thought I’d never walk again.

Tiger Shroff

“Actors losing their lives during stunt and that too due to negligence .that’s sad to hear. My thoughts and prayers go out to their family. Action sequences are unpredictable no matter how safe you make your environment. I rehearsed tirelessly for Baaghi and Flying Jatt. But when it comes to shooting, your adrenaline is higher and the ambience and geography changes, which make a difference while performing.”