“Y ou can trust this soil. It will never betray you,” says stunt master ‘Danger’ Mani, as he touches the sand at Marina Beach to pray before a practice session. He was given the prefix after his dare-devil auto stunt in a Vishal-starrer that gave everyone on the sets a scare. This may not be a similar stunt, but Mani promises to impress us with his moves. He and five other stunt artistes choreograph a mini-stunt scene, where two of them jump up.
The rest fly back in different directions, as if they are punched hard. It is as good as watching an action film.
The beach is a favourite spot for aspiring stuntmen who come on Sunday mornings to take gymnastics classes. “Gymnastics warms up your body, makes it numb to pain and helps minimise injury. You keep falling and, finally, learn to fall in such a way that you don’t get hurt. It’s like magic,” smiles Mani.
Martial Arts and Cine Stunt Academy is a school for cine-stunt, gymnastics, and silambam, run by ‘Power’ Pandian, also the vice-president of the World Silambam Federation.
Classes are held on the grounds of Nandanam YMCA College of Physical Education. He has been training actors for 30 years. Suriya, Dhansika, and Vijay Sethupathi are his students. “Learning silambam is mandatory for stuntmen. It helps them with foot work. Also, it makes your movements graceful.
Almost all the older stunt artistes had a base in traditional martial arts. MGR was one of the earliest movie stars to use thekkan kalari in his films.”
The actor was also the first to start an informal stunt group with 20 to 30 people. The death of a fighter named Pulikesi, who was severely injured after fighting a tiger, triggered the need for a stunt union in the 60s, explains Pandian. “There was no money to perform his last rites. Stunt artistes pooled in money to cremate him.” The incident made them think: They gave their lives to the profession, but didn’t have a platform to voice their needs. “That’s how the union was started. MGR gave a lot of support in the beginning.”
A photo of the star greets you as you walk into the union building. Inside, some members are playing carrom and watching film songs on TV. They gather here every second Sunday for a general body meeting. The union is almost like a family to them. “They organise gifts for weddings and when you retire, they collect money from the members for a part of the post-retirement fund, and also honour you with a shield and shawl,” says Mani.
Many stunt men live in the locality. Like ‘Knockout’ Nandha who invites me to tea. “People think we are brash. But, many of us do not even touch alcohol or cigarettes,” he says. His is a rags-to-riches story — he chucked his job in a provisions store to do stunts. “Otherwise, I would have been toiling away, writing accounts. This job saved me.”
There are also those who come from well-educated backgrounds, but are here against their family’s approval. ‘Dishyum’ Soman is one of them. “The film bug bit me at an early age. I have always wanted to be an actor and had a passion for stunts. Stunts help me earn a living while I keep trying for good roles. In the film industry, you have to shine if you want to survive.”
The South India Cine and TV Stunt Directors and Stunt Artistes Union, which consists of around 580 members, is the only body to represent these artistes and safeguard their rights. “It’s a union that stands on its own, without any kind of support from the Government,” says ‘Malaysia’ Bhaskar, the president.
Wages are fixed by the union. There are three categories in this field: fighter, stunt assistant/dupe, and stunt master. “The minimum remuneration for a fighter is around Rs. 4,300, for the stunt assistant/dupe it is around Rs. 4,800, and the stunt master’s is around Rs.18,000. But, the salary of the stunt master can always go up, as he can demand more depending on his reputation in the field.” If a producer does not pay a fighter, the union can file a complaint at the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) and the film can be stalled.
The recent deaths of Kannada stunt artistes Anil and Uday have sparked off a debate in the stunt world about safety measures. The two of them jumped from a chopper into a lake and drowned. Two motor boats in the vicinity were all that was needed. “The boat can be erased during post-production using technology,” says Mani. A stunt master should be able to gauge what his fighter can do, says Pandian.
“In this case, one of them had said he did not know swimming well. The life jacket was given only to the hero. That’s not fair.” Pandian also adds that there is not much support from the Government. They neglect circus and stunt artistes because they take risks knowingly.
They are not too keen about insurance companies, says Bhaskar. “We end up paying high premiums because the damages caused in the cine-world are much higher.”
However, they deduct Rs. 100 from the producer, for each fighter in the team involved in a fight sequence. “If there are 10 fighters in a sequence, he has to pay Rs.1,000 to the union after a sequence. And, the rate will rise according to the number of sequences. But, even this amount is not enough to meet the expenses of the damages caused.”
There are very few stunt men in this industry, who do not have a scar or wound that reminds them of a near-death experience. ‘Bullet’ Babu, who has duped for Rajinikanth in Enthiran , has a metallic plate surgically inserted in his left hand, thanks to a stunt scene he did in 2000 for Vallarasu . He had to drive a car at 80km/hour and hit it against a moving container lorry that accidentally halted. The car’s bonnet was completely destroyed and Babu’s left hand was broken. Till now, he has never said ‘no’ to any scene. The very idea sounds preposterous to Babu. “There are things beyond us, which are decided by God. We cannot do anything about it.”
Many of them, who were non-believers, turned believers after they entered this field. Pandian’s class always ends with a prayer. A stunt man squeezes a lemon and sprays the juice on the ground in prayer before every stunt. Says Nandha, “Whenever anyone in our team is about to jump from a building or break glass, the rest of us, including the master, will keep praying for him. Even if we dislike that person, we will call out to all the gods to protect him.”
