FEFSI Holds Meeting To Discuss Safety Concerns On Film Sets After Stuntman’s Death

An unfortunate incident occurred on the sets of Sardar 2, a Karthi-starrer film, where a stuntman lost his life after falling from a height of 20 feet. Regarding the matter, Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) held a meeting in Chennai yesterday, where the members discussed the gravity of the situation. As per the reports, the meeting was attended by the members including Selvamani, Radha Ravi, producers T Siva, Dhananjayan, Kathiresan, along with the office bearers and rest of the organisation. It was also attended by several music directors, stuntmen and dubbing artists. More reports state that a demand was made by the members to provide better security to the crew, on the site of the shoot. It should include ambulances on standby and other medical facilities. After the meeting, the president of FEFSI, RK Selvamanai interacted with the media, detailing their concerns. According to him, security should be arranged on filming locations. An accident is something unexpected, the safety of the crew involved should be taken into consideration and facilities should be availed.

Speaking further, he mentioned that around 60 percent of the accidents are due to the mistakes of the workers themselves. So, to avoid such mistakes in the future, they must come forward. He stated that since the actors are given a call sheet, the workers are forced to construct the set hastily. The sets that need around 40 to 45 days to construct are completed in 15 days. Selvamani then asked, “Do actors set dates at the end hour?” He revealed that after the unfortunate death of stuntman Elumanali, they demanded the film industry to donate 1 percent of their salaries to his family. The request was not accepted and ended up being ignored.

There is no toilet facility for women on these sets. Selvamani mentioned his personal experience on the sets, revealing how a woman avoided drinking water because the location had no toilet facilities. A deadline of August 15 has been given by the organisation, to make all the security arrangements for the workers. Beyond the mentioned, if the security measures are not taken, then no shooting will take place.