Goons flying everywhere, punches being delivered, throats being slit, cars zooming at blazing speed, a high-octane chase sequence between a hero and a villain — such are the stunt sequences in Tamil films. However jaw-dropping an action scene may look, little is known about the hard work that goes into it. There have been several accidents on the sets, some even fatal, and these stunt choreographers and doubles risk their lives for it.
The bigger question is, do the stuntmen take necessary precautions and are they covered by insurance? Actress-director-producer Lakshmy Ramakrishnan tells DC, “I was living overseas for 15 years, and dignity of labour was given much importance there. So, when I produced Aarohanam, I had group insurance filed for all the technicians on the sets. It was shocking to know that it was a new concept in Kollywood.”
She further adds that producers and directors are concentrating more on hype rather than insuring their films — “If some injury occurs to a stuntman during the shot, who will be answerable to his family? We should stop talking about the hero’s salary and box office collections. We should value dignity of labour and give importance to basic facilities.”
Speaking about the significance of these stuntmen, choreographer Stunt Silva is happy that our industry is on par with Hollywood. “I’ve worked with Hollywood technicians and they get awestruck seeing the amount of work we put in for a stunt sequence,” says Silva. He further adds that the industry has come a long way, and basic insurance is being provided by the South India Cine Stunt Directors and Stunt Artists Union. “Apart from the basic insurance, we will have to personally enroll for insurance based on our economic situation. However, during shoots, producers concentrate on group insurance only for big-budget movies. For small-budget films, it is not advisable to ask for insurance as they would be struggling to shoot their film. But, we do insure for risky stunts.”
A stunt double, under condition of anonymity, states, “We risk our lives for the image of the heroes but all we get are bruises. Stunt directors are now taking necessary measures to guarantee our safety. We do yearn to gain some recognition for risking our lives to make action sequences look real.”
The double also mentioned that they wouldn’t attempt any stunt if they were in a dilemma. On the same lines, actor-producer Arun Vijay, who prefers to perform stunts on his own sans any stunt-double, quips, “I’ve never performed any stunt with a doubt in my mind. According to me, don’t do a stunt for the sake of doing it. If you are even 1% doubtful, ask the director to change the sequence. It is that confidence that will help you perform any stunt.”
When quizzed about the trend of insuring films, Arun Vijay adds, “Since Kuttram 23 is my first production venture, I just jumped into it. Only after completing a majority of the portions did Silva master elaborate on insuring the film. It is a welcome concept and I will definitely bring it into practice for my next venture. If we insure our film, it means safety for the producer and the workers as well.”
With the concept of insuring films slowly coming into limelight, it is imperative to cash in. Be it a punch or jumping off a cliff, life is precious. It is high time that every producer follows this concept to ensure his safety as well as that
of others.
