Kannada film Maasti Gudi's crew to face criminal charges post tragic death of two stunt actors

In a shocking incident of a film stunt gone horribly wrong, Kannada actors Raghava Uday and stuntman Anil passed away after a fatal stunt for the film Maasti Gudi. During the shoot of a film starring Duniya Vijay, three actors, including Vijay, were supposed to jump from a chopper into a reservoir for an action sequence, according to a report in International Business Times. While actor Duniya Vijay swam back to the shores, Uday and Anil failed to surface, giving rise to fears that they may have lost their lives in the stunt. It is now being reported by Times Now that the director, producer and stunt director have been booked for culpable homicide. News footage showed two people first leaping from the helicopter followed by another person.

#WATCH: Two Kannada actors missing after they jumped from a chopper into Thippagondanahalli Reservoir during a movie shoot in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/MBTzbicvxl

— ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2016

  The shooting was going on at Tippagondanahalli lake on Magadi Road, 35km west of Bengaluru when around 3 pm Monday evening the stunt went wrong. The News Minute report further stated that only Vijay, the lead actor, was provided with a safety harness. According to  NDTV, police sources have said that a criminal case may be registered against the filmmakers as sufficient safety arrangements were not in place. According to Times Now, the reason behind the accident was the motor failure in the speed boat that was kept on stand-by to fetch the three actors. Speaking to a Kannada news channel before performing the stunt, Uday had said he was “scared” of the stunt and was not good at swimming. “I’m very scared first of all. I have not done (such stunt) so far, nor have I seen anyone performing such stunt so far, so I’m scared. Whatever safety is done there is always a  fear within oneself, despite that the situation is that I have  to perform it…. He also said he was not good at swimming. “…I’m not that good in swimming, I can  fall (into water) and come out, but I have never fallen into water from such a height, so there is some sort of fear within me.” Stating that precautionary measures had been taken by the team, he said “preparation is what they have done, they have said that once we fall they will come (in boat), we are dependent on it, if there is anything above it, there is God.” The video also showed people on the shore shouting at a rescue diesel boat crew to rush towards the drowning stuntmen, but it could not move due to technical fault. It is alleged that there were no expert divers on the spot. According to locals, the place where stunt was being picturised was a dangerous spot as there is about 30-40 ft of silt below 15-20 feet of water. There are also abandoned fishing nets at the spot. Officials said lack of precautionary measures and faulty rescue boats were stated to be the main cause for the mishap. With inputs from PTI