Film stunt goes wrong: Two Kannada actors dead after jumping from copter into lake

The stunt was part of the shooting of the film "Masti Gudi" starring Duniya Vijay.
Film stunt goes wrong: Two Kannada actors dead after jumping from copter into lake
Film stunt goes wrong: Two Kannada actors dead after jumping from copter into lake
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Two actors have died in a stunt gone wrong at Tippagondanahalli lake on Magadi Road, 35km west of Bengaluru. The stunt was part of the shooting for the film “Maasti Gudi” starring Duniya Vijay.

As part of the stunt, Vijay and two other actors, Anil and Uday, jumped into the lake from a helicopter. While Vijay was rescued, the two other actors did not surface. A search operation is on to find the duo.  A video from the incident shows the two actors screaming for help, even as Vijay swims. 

The incident took place at around 3 pm on Monday. Sources allege that adequate safety measures were not taken during the shoot, and prior rehearsal for the shoot had not taken place.

A team consisting of expert swimmers are on the spot searching for the two men. Meanwhile, their friends at the spot say they were not expert swimmers. It is also not known whether all three actors had safety harnesses.

There were a few channels covering the stunt and reporters on the spot say that only Duniya Vijay had a safety harness, while the other two didn't. There were reportedly no ambulances or speed boats on standby to help if needed. Since the stunt scene had been a much publicized one, there were channels at the spot covering it.

In an interview to Public TV, Anil told the reporter, "I know swimming. But first time I am jumping from a height. So I am a bit nervous, not sure what will happen. I only know a little swimming. I have only swum in a well where you reach the edge after two or three strokes. That’s all the swimming I know. I’ve never had practice swimming 30 or 60ft lengths."

Uday added, "There was no specific preparation for this scene. I have come. There are some masters. Vijay is there. The three of us will just jump. That’s all I know. The rest is up to God."

Duniya Vijay was rescued by a coracle as per reports.
 
Ramanagara SP Chandragupta told media that a criminal case will be registered against the  "Maasti Gudi" unit.
 
BWSSB in a notice released on November 4 said that the film was not given permission for aerial shooting, but in spite of this the movie maker went ahead with the shooting. TV reports suggested that the film crew went into a prohibited area where silt had accumulated. Reports quoted police officials on the ground saying that safety measurements were inadequate. 
 
Accidents during film shoots have occurred in the past. Malayalam actor Jayan died in an accident on the sets of the film “Kolilakkam” in 1980. The most infamous case out of Bollywood was the injury suffered by Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of “Coolie”, when the actor ruptured his intestine during the shooting of a fight sequence. 
 

These are the two men who are feared drowned.

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