Indulging in Bollywood fantasies by blindly aping dangerous
onscreen action sequences comes at its own price. Many youngsters have
tried to imitate stunts in Bollywood films, often leading to fatal or
near-fatal results
While our actors live life on the edge in their onscreen avatars, some fan-atics seem to love doing that in real life too.
The video of a youth crossing the railway tracks seconds before a Mumbai local passes by has recently gone viral.
It is a replication of a scene from Salman Khan's latest film, Kick,
where the superstar leaves his bicycle behind and crosses the train
tracks seconds before a train passes by.
Salman Khan in 'Kick'
The video of a youth crossing the railway tracks seconds before a Mumbai
local passes by has recently gone viral; it is a replication of a scene
from Salman Khan's film, Kick (in pic) where the star leaves his
bicycle behind and crosses the train tracks, managing to get out of the
train's way just in time.
Even as the Railway Protection Force (RPF) appeals against such
harakiri, we take a look at film stunts that have inspired fans to copy
them thus leading to fatal or near-fatal consequences.
The video of a youth crossing the railway tracks seconds before a Mumbai local passes by has recently gone viral
Film: Ghulam (1998)
The incident: In 2011, 14-year-old Mohammed Afzal Raja died while
trying to copy actor Aamir Khan's infamous train stunt from the film
Ghulam.
Aamir Khan in Ghulam
A resident of West Vinod Nagar, New Delhi, Mohammed tried to race a
speeding local train. The boy then tried to jump over the train tracks,
but he did not notice a fast running train that was coming from the
opposite direction. The train hit him and he succumbed to his injuries
on the spot.
Film: Krrish (2006)
The incident: While Rakesh Roshan's Krrish created waves at the box
office, it proved to be disastrous for Shivam, a nine-year-old from
Patna, Bihar, who jumped from a five-storeyed building in 2006 because
he apparently wanted to 'fly like Krrish'.
Hrithik Roshan in Krrish
Luckily, the boy survived after spending a considerable period of time
in the ICU of a local hospital. Reports say that his neighbours had gone
on record to state that Shivam idolised Hrithik Roshan and wanted to be
like the superhero.
In the same year, Vishnu, a young man working in a hotel in Khandwa,
Madhya Pradesh, jumped from the balcony of a film theatre after watching
this superhero flick. He suffered multiple injuries and was rushed to
the district hospital. In his statement to the police, he admitted that
he was a big fan of Hrithik and had tried to ape his favourite actor.
The police registered a case of attempted suicide against him.
Film: Dhoom 2 (2006)
The incident: The year 2006 saw the release of Krissh and Dhoom 2,
two of Bollywood's biggest action-thriller hits. Sadly, both these films
seem to have influenced teenagers in not so positive ways.
Abhishek Bachchan in Dhoom 2
In December 2006, Rohit Kalekar, a 13-year-old Mumbai resident, stole
R13,000 from his uncle's home and bought a battery-operated motorbike.
He even changed his attire to match Hrithik's look. He spent hours
cruising on the Western Express Highway before the police spotted him
and took him to the station.
Film: Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
The incident: In 2012, Bangalore resident Mohammed Faizan lost his
life after attempting to copy Salman Khan's train stunt from Ek Tha
Tiger. The school student wanted to show his friends how Salman Khan had
jumped off the train in the spy thriller. He climbed on top of a
stationary train, Golden Chariot, and was thrown off it when he touched a
high-tension wire. He fell head first on the platform with severe
burns. Though he received immediate treatment at a local hospital and
later at Nimhans, he could not survive the accident.
Hollywood calling
In 2012, the love for Batman (see pic) and his escapades seems to have
cost Shubham Shailendra Kambale, 12, his life. Kambale died in Pune
after aping a stunt of the popular DC character.
Batman
The boy tied a sari to a five-feet ladder and tried descending to the
ground with it. However, the sari got entangled round his neck and
choked him to death.
Action directors speak out
It's very tough to preventing people from doing such acts. Youngsters
and kids don't realise that actors and stuntmen take a lot of
precautions before performing a stunt.
Abbas Ali Moghul
There is an ambulance on standby and it takes hours of rehearsals before
a shot is taken. Also, disclaimers are displayed on the screen during
action sequences and yet people don't pay attention to them. I have read
reports about boys bunking school and going to isolated locations in
order to perform stunts. Parents should keep tabs on their kids'
behaviour and educate them about these things since the craze for cinema
seems to be infinite. At times, it's tough to show reason to people who
think of themselves as heroes.
The sad fact is that kids don't think how their lives will be affected
if their attempts go haywire. Once a stunt is successfully executed by a
kid/teenager, he keeps on repeating it in order to show off, which is
again hazardous.
Mahendra Verma
If a kid or a teenager really loves action, there are professional
training institutes that can guide them in the right fashion. Nowadays,
many action sequences are digitally created. I am hoping such incidents
will stop if we show clips informing people that such sequences are
computer-generated effects.
It's stupid when people think that they can re-create onscreen stunts in
real life. Nowadays, stunts in films are quite safe due to VFX. Many
daring stunts are created through computer graphics.
Sham Kaushal
People need to realise that. Films and advertisements that feature
stunts have a disclaimer saying that no one should attempt them at home.
As an action director, I would request young people to refrain from
taking part in such activities just for the sake of an adrenaline rush.
When a young child or a teenager dies, it's a real tragedy for the
family that spends years in grief. As far as videos of stunts going
viral is concerned, any young person with knowledge of graphics can copy
paste images to fabricate a daring stunt. So, there is no guarantee
that he has done it himself.
