The shooting of a stunt scene in the Kannada film, Masthi Gudi, in November 2016 had ended in tragedy, when two actors Anil Kumar and Raghav Uday drowned. Months later, the Magadi Road police has filed a charge sheet in the case at the Judicial Magistrate First Class Court.
The stunt sequence at the TG Halli Reservoir involved the film’s star Duniya Vijay and Anil and Raghav jumping form a helicopter into the reservoir. Minutes before the stunt was attempted, Anil and Uday had told a news channel covering the shooting that they did not know swimming. The two actors were also not provided any protective gear for the stunt.
When they jumped into the water, the actors began to struggle in the water. While Vijay, who was wearing protective gear, managed to reach a coracle and get rescued, the other two actors drowned.
The incident had raised a hue and cry among the public about the lack of safety measures and proper procedures for shooting dangerous stunts. Many people also condemned the film unit for its indifference towards the safety and well-being of junior artists.
According to sources, the chargesheet lists 78 names as accused, including director Naga Shekhar, producer Sundar P Gowda, stunt director Ravi Varma, assistant director Siddharth, unit manager Bharath and the helicopter pilot Prakash Biradar. Interestingly, actor Vijay’s name has been not been listed among the accused, but features as the prime witness.
Incidentally, the film written by Duniya Vijay, and also starring Kriti Kharbanda and Amulya is set for release on May 12. The film that was due for release many months earlier, was stalled for some time following the accident.
(Content provided by Digital Native)