Death of a stuntman: It's about time there were safety standards for film sets

Indian Express

3 days ago

During the making of Pa Ranjith's upcoming film Vettuvam, stuntman S Mohanraj died while performing a car toppling sequence. A video clip capturing the accident made it to the news, greatly shocking anyone who watched it. The film industry regards Mohanraj, a veteran with over three decades of experience, as a specialist in performing car stunts, and it wasn't the first time he was executing such a stunt. A day after the demise, filmmaker Pa Ranjith issued a heartfelt condolence message while also clarifying that safety protocols had been in place and precautions had been taken as advised by the stunt experts.
The case probably gained widespread attention as a video clip capturing the fatal accident was shared by someone present on the film set. But such deaths during film shoots are not as rare as might be imagined, although in the absence of similar video evidence, they hardly make news. Last year, in another high profile film, Sardar 2 starring actor Karthi, a stuntman died in an accident. Much earlier, in 2020, during the shoot of filmmaker Shankar's Indian 2, starring Kamal Haasan, three individuals — an assistant director, an art assistant and a production assistant — were killed while mounting a heavy-duty light on a crane, while another 10 were injured. It is important to note that the three individuals were killed not during a risky stunt sequence, but merely during the erection of a set.
Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) president RK Selvamani stated that between Indian 2 and Sardar 2, as many as 20 stuntmen have been killed in on-set accidents. However, these deaths hardly make it to the news, except in the case of high profile films. While senior stunt masters have repeatedly pressed for better safety standards, they have also invoked the Tamil saying 'Karanam thappinal maranam (Death is assured, even in the case of a small slip)', reflecting an internalised readiness to accept the risk of death as intrinsic to the job.
Ideally, FEFSI should be pressing producers to implement better safety standards for all stunt sequences performed in the industry. Thus far, however, there has not been much pressure on producers or the producers' council on this matter — given the way power is skewed in the industry, FEFSI is forced to save its negotiating edge to handle several other workers' issues.
In such a situation, the onus to maintain the safety standards ends up on the stuntperson performing the risky action sequence. We have to remember here that most stuntpersons aren't formally trained or qualified to certify the safety standards of their own performances. Many of them, in fact, willingly put their own lives at enormous risk to ensure the sustenance of their families and themselves. In the event of their death, compensation is handed out — in the case of the Indian 2 incident, Shankar, Kamal Haasan and Lyca Productions handed over Rs 4 crore to the families of the deceased. But this cannot be the model for how the film industry functions. Handing out huge sums to the families of deceased stuntpersons cannot take the place of continuous investments and maintenance of better safety standards for all.
As long as the current model works out economically, the industry will continue to function in the same way. The only solution is for the State or Union government to institute a Film Set Safety Standard Board that would inspect every film set and issue certificates based on the safety standards maintained. Such a board should be adequately equipped with manpower and expertise to examine, understand and advise on the safety standards of the film set or stunt sequences performed. And it should be made mandatory to get a clearance from the board to ensure the public release of a film.
There was a time when film productions received backlash for mistreating animals during shoots. But today, to use animals in films or advertisements in India, filmmakers need to obtain pre-shoot permission and post-shoot clearance from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). And this has to a great extent ensured the ethical treatment of animals during film shoots. It is high time that safety standards are put in place, and enforced, so that stuntpersons don't have to place themselves in harmful situations to ensure that the audience gets the adrenaline rush it craves.
The writer is a Chennai-based filmmaker