Kannada actors Anil and Uday, who tragically drowned in a Bangalore lake on Monday while shooting for a stunt sequence for the film Mastigudi, were apparently bad swimmers. In an interview with a TV channel, given just minutes before they took the deadly plunge into a lake from a helicopter, the actors are heard saying that they could not swim well. Anil told reporters, “This is first time I am jumping from such a height. So I am a bit nervous, not sure what will happen. My swimming skills are poor. I have swum in a well where you reach the edge after two or three strokes. That’s all the swimming I know. I’ve never swam in 30 or 60 ft lengths.”
In the video, Uday also talked about his acrophobia (fear of heights). He said, “There was no specific preparation for this scene. I have come. There are some masters. Vijay is there. The three of us will just jump. That’s all I know. The rest is up to God.” He added, “This is the first time I am performing such a stunt. I get scared looking down from the first floor of a building. I hope that all will be fine with the grace of God.”
The stunt scene was highly publicised, and cost around Rs 1.2 crore. The scene was shot in the presence of the TV channel crew and reporters. According to a Newsminute report, the scene was part of the film’s climax sequence. The deceased actors, along with the film’s hero Duniya Vijay, jumped off a helicopter from a height of 100 ft into Tippagondanahalli lake on Magadi Road, 35km west of Bengaluru.
In videos that surfaced online subsequently, Vijay can be seen wearing a safety harness, while the other two actors have no such safety equipment on.
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Incidentally, it was in a November, 36 years ago, that Malayalam superstar Jayan met with an untimely death while performing a stunt for a Kolilakkam. In the scene, Jayan had to pursue and capture the villain (played by Balan K Nair), who is trying to escape in a helicopter. The shot had already been taken thrice, but Jayan, a perfectionist, insisted on one more take, with fatal results. While Jayan was trying to climb the helicopter from a motorbike and grab hold of Nair, the chopper lost balance and crashed onto the Sholavaram air strip at Thiruvallur in Tamil Nadu. The pilot and Jayan’s co-actor escaped with minor injuries, but Jayan did not.