A 35-year-old stuntman died after he was electrocuted during a Kannada film shoot in Jogenahalli near Bidadi in Ramanagar district on Monday. The incident occurred when Vivek, the stuntman, was working on the sets of the film Love you Rachchu, which stars Ajay Rao and Rachita Ram. Police alleged that the incident occurred due to negligence by the film crew and detained stuntmaster Vinod and charged him and the crew for death due to negligence, The Hindu reported.
The incident sparked fresh conversations about the safety protocols during shoots in the Kannada film industry. It comes nearly five years after the mishap on the sets of the film Maasthi Gudi where two crew members died in 2016.
The latest incident took place in a coconut farm near Bidadi where an action sequence was being filmed for the last five days. A stuntman was elevated using an industrial crane while shooting the sequence and he was tied to a metal rope. Vivek was tasked with ensuring the stuntman fell in a small pool of water.
But the stuntman came in contact with a high tension wire. He was saved because he was wearing a safety jacket but Vivek was electrocuted as the current passed through the wire, Deccan Herald reported. Vivek hails from Tamil Nadu and was working on the action sequences of the film.
Love you Rachchu is directed by Shankar Raj and he was among the people called in by the police for questioning. The Ramanagara police have taken director Shankar, stunt choreographer Vinod, crane driver Muniraju and farm owner Puttaraju into custody.
In 2016, two stuntmen - Anil and Raghav - drowned to death after jumping from a helicopter into a lake while shooting the film Maasthi Gudi. The lead actor Duniya Vijay was rescued by other members of the film crew.