Accidents on sets: Occupational hazard or lack of safety measures?

Movies may be about makebelieve but these are for real Hrithik Roshan recently suffered a ligament tear while doing an action sequence for his upcoming period drama Mohenjo Daro The star has been advised rest for at least a fortnight Read More In the last couple of months multiple actors who were pulling off stunts on the sets have been left reeling in painHrithik Roshan is the fourth actor to have been injured this month so farA few days ago Shahid injured his finger during a fight sequence for Rangoon bringing the shoot to an abrupt halt Before that Tiger Shroff hurt his back while filming for Baaghi and Aamir Khan sustained a shoulder injury on the set of Dangal in which he plays a wrestler And lets not forget how the Abu Dhabi schedule of Rohit Dhawans Dishoom was delayed after John Abraham had to undergo surgery for a bad knee last October Read moreShahid KapoorIn view of the repeated mishaps on sets hitlist speaks to some filmmakers and action directors particularly since the latter is the first to be blamedJohn AbrahamWheres the expertAlthough action directors understand the science behind shooting a perfect action scene an action instructor ought to be on set to avoid untoward incidents says renowned stunt director Allan Amin ldquoWhen you shoot abroad you will spot one person who looks after the safety of stunt performers as well as the entire unit But in India we do not have that safety instructor I am hoping that eventually filmmakers here will also start getting safety instructors They are trained for the job and ensure 100 per cent safety on the setsrdquo adds AminAllan AminMatching up to HollywoodAction director Shyam Kaushal who is currently working with Aamir Khan for Dangal believes that getting hurt on set is a part and parcel of the profession and should not be taken in a negative wayAamir KhanWhen a talent has to run jump or perform an acrobatic scene there are chances that he or she might get hurt It is the same with sportsmen too They also get hurt on field Similarly these talents have chosen a profession in which they might get hurt while performing a stunt or action scene he explainsShyam KaushalHowever Kaushal claims that there has been a lot of improvement in terms of safety measures followed by the industry We make sure that the actors are well prepared before filming an action or stunt scene Plus we do ensure the presence of a physiotherapist on set At times we change the scenes if a stunt appears extremely difficult to pull off or one in which safety might be compromised But often we take pride in pulling ourselves down and say that Hollywood is superior to us But let me tell you I have worked on Hollywood projects as well and the working conditions are the same adds KaushalBasic precautionsSabbir Khan who is directing Tiger in Baaghi claims that his production team always takes basic safety measures to avoid mishaps We make sure that the stunt performer is well prepared before pulling of a scene and that a medical team is available with us Apart from that we ensure that everyone on the sets in insured The industrys safety standards have improved and it follows all safety norms of the West he saysTiger Shroff performs a stunt while promoting Heropanti 2014 PICNIMESH DAVELosses galoreWhether the industry is ensuring adequate safety measures or not is debatable but an insider points out that mishaps lead to losses for the industry It is a loss firstly because a talent gets injured and at times is out of work for a while Second when shoot schedules are delayed producers bear losses So considering the increasing instances of people getting hurt better safety conditions need to be brought inFrom experienceArshad Warsi who had hurt himself during the filming of The Legend of Michael Mishra two years ago feels safety is a priority area since most films these days have gravity defying stunts As actors we do our best to make the shot look as authentic as possible and even the safety measures are adequate but things can never be 100 per cent secure There is always that slight chance of things going a tad off and that leads to injuries Having said that I believe the best of stunt directors are working in the industry we have Hollywood stunt directors working here for so many films and the highest standards of safety are met but one cannot discount error of judgment and that leads to mishaps at times But that is all part of the job I guess This has always been an issue Earlier the stuntsmen used to get injured and now that the actors are doing stunts themselves they are getting injured While doing any kind of action scene it should be mandatory for all production teams to have a wellequipped ambulance and a certified doctor on set