Kannada stuntmen drowning row: Producer, director, stunt director booked for negligence

The entire Indian film fraternity was in for a rude shock yesterday after a couple of stuntmen went missing after drowning in a dam near Bengaluru. The unit of the Kannada film Mastigudi was filming the climax of the film. 

While shooting a thrilling chase sequence, the two stuntmen, Anil and Uday, and the lead actor, Duniya Vijay jumped into a dam from a helicopter at a height of 30 feet. The three of them started drowning soon. Vijay was saved in time but Anil and Uday went missing. 

What raised more eyebrows was the fact that Uday, before the stunt, said in an interview that they didn’t know how to swim. “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. I’m not that good in swimming, I can fall and come out, but I have never fallen into water from such a height, so there is some sort of fear within me.” 

According to the police, the two of them weren’t wearing any life jackets but Vijay was. It was also found later that there was a rescue boat present on the spot. But it turned out to be of no use as it suffered from a technical glitch. 

The two stuntment are feared dead, although their bodies aren’t recovered yet. 

Now, as per latest developments, an FIR has been filed against the producer Sundar Gowda, director Nagashekhar and the stunt director for negligence. 

Watch the incident captured on camera: