Jump from a helicopter into a reservoir.
In a tragic incident, two young Kannada actors drowned in a lake during the shooting of a movie on Monday. Actors Anil Raghav and Uday drowned in the Thippagondanahalli Reservoir, 35 km. west of Bengaluru while performing a stunt in actor Duniya Vijay’s upcoming movie Masti Gudi.
India Today reported that the climax scene of the film was being shot when the accident happened. The actors were performing a stunt in a helicopter. Raghav and Uday along with Vijay jumped into the reservoir from a helicopter and Vijay managed to reach the shore.
The shooting team launched a rescue mission using a boat, but couldn’t find the actors. Later, expert divers were deployed to find the actors. Reports said that adequate safety measures were not taken before starting the stunt sequences. Vijay, who is playing the lead role, was only provided with a harness. Stunt master Ravi Varma had been supervising the stunt.
The police have registered a criminal case against the makers of the film.
“The rescue operations are still going on. We will be booking case against those responsible and also inquire into all aspects – whether all adequate measures and permissions were taken or not,” Ramanagara Superintendent of Police Dr. Chandragupta told PTI.
Earlier, Uday had told a Kannada news channel that he was not good at swimming and was scared of the stunt.
“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 (into water) and come out, but I have never fallen into the water from such a height, so there is some sort of fear within me,†he said.
Vijay started off as a junior film artist in the industry playing small insignificant roles before he got the big break in Duniya in 2007. He is noted for his performances in various films such as Chanda (2007), Junglee (2009), Johny Mera Naam Preethi Mera Kaam (2011) and Jayammana Maga(2013).
Raghav and Uday were reportedly playing negative roles in the film. Uday was awarded the Best Villain for his role in the Kannada film Jayammana Maga in 2014. A close friend of Duniya Vijay, Raghav is the president of his fans’ association.