Many Kannada heroes do their own stunts

They believe it lends authenticity to their action, and the risks are covered better these days

Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas was injured recently when he was shooting for ‘Edakkad Battalion 06’.

The injury occurred when he attempted a stunt without a body double.

Many actors do their own stunts, not just for the thrill but also because it adds authenticity to their action scenes.

Top Kannada actors Puneeth Rajkumar, Shivarajkumar, Yash and Sudeep don’t use body doubles.

Puneeth has pulled off some spectacular action scenes in ‘Yuvarathnaa’, slated to hit cinemas anytime this year.

“The safety is better than it used to be, say, when my brothers started out and during my father’s time,” Puneeth told Showtime.

Practise hard: Puneeth

Puneeth is well-known for his dancing and action, and it all comes from rigorous practice. “My exercises have given me the flexibility that I need to move swiftly. I have also trained in martial arts like kalaripayattu and taekwondo,” he says.

He believes a good diet helps actors move their bodies the way they want them to.

“On a day when I have to shoot for an action scene, I eat less and work out more,” adds Puneeth.

He has just started shooting for ‘James,’ also said to be an action film.

Evaluate risks: Nirup

Nirup Bhandari jumps off a height in the opening sequence of ‘Rajaratha’ and takes part in tough fight scenes in ‘Aadi Lakshmi Purana’.

He says he loves taking risks, but takes elaborate precautions as well.

“I have done most of my stunts myself and injured myself pretty badly as well. For ‘Rajaratha’, I had to do a jump, and I landed on my right wrist because the rains had made the surface slippery. I suffered two fractures. After that incident, I am taking it a bit slow,” explains Nirup.

Nirup shot about 40 per cent of Rajaratha with an injured wrist. “I took strong painkiller injections for eight hours a day for three days to help me complete the shoot. I couldn’t lift a toothbrush with that hand,” he recalls.

When a stunt looks particularly risky, Nirup asks the director not to go for it because, he says, safety comes first. “We can’t predict what can go wrong when,” he says.

Stunt masters know

In the Kannada film ‘Vismaya,’ actor Karthik Jayaram lands on his chest on a bench and the bench splits in two.

“Had I not trained hard and built my strength, I would have injured myself pretty badly in that scene. My heart skipped a beat and I thought I would die when we shot the scene,” he told ‘Showtime.’

The stunt directors often take a call on behalf of the actors.

“One small mistake could cost us our lives. Actors are not usually trained and this is where a body double helps. Trained stuntmen know what to do if something goes awry,” he says.

Karthik will be seen in action mode in his upcoming Tamil debut ‘Maaligai’ with Andrea Jeremiah.

Stunt directors take many factors, including an actor’s capabilities, before planning a scene.

Chethan D’Souza, stunt director for Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films, personally trains actors. “We first understand the scene, analyse fitness levels, and see if an actor has any prior action experience,” says D’Souza.

If a scene involves just fistfights, actors are made to wear safety padding. “Whenever there’s a risky stunt, my team does an evaluation first. We never put an actor’s life and limb at risk,” he says.

Action tricks

If the actor learns the moves, he is put on a rope and made to do the stunt. The rope is digitally erased from the scene in post-production.

If a scene calls for advanced capability, a body double is used. For example, if the hero has to leap off a building or tower, an expert performs the stunt and his face is later digitally replaced with the actors'.

Stunt gone wrong
Actors Anil Kumar and Raghava Uday died in a fatal tragedy during the shooting of Duniya Vijay-starrer, ‘Maasti Gudi’ on November 7, 2016, near Magadi. The scene required Uday and Anil to jump into the lake from a helicopter which was 100 meters above the water. Both Uday and Anil had been vocal about not being good swimmers. They weren’t wearing life jackets, yet they were asked to jump. A rescue boat that was supposed to pull the actors out of the water did not start and the actors drowned to death.