The first Indian film came way back in 1913. It has been more than 100 years since Indian makers have been making films. Technology and film making techniques have all advanced over the years and we are able to use the best VFX, CGI, graphics out there. In such a condition, the fact that the film crew still is suffering due to lack of safety measures is something that seems unbelievable looking at the state of Indian cinema.
Recently, during the shoot of a Kannada film Manada Kadalu, directed by Yogaraj Bhat; a crew member Mohan Kumar, fell from a 30-foot ladder, suffering critical injuries who later passed away in the hospital. An FIR was lodged against Bhat, the assistant director and the producer for ignorance of safety protocols that led to the death of his brother. This has not been the only case where the crew suffered due to safety ignorance.
In the latest Kamal Hassan film Indian 2, a similar incident was reported. A crane collapsed on the set leading to the death of three crew members and multiple members were injured. It was reported that the crane that was being used was an industrial crane and not a film-specific crane and as the floor was quite weak for it, it collapsed. Two Kannada actors lost their life drowning in a lake while shooting a helicopter stunt in 2023. In the set of Dabangg 3, a crew member was injured during a fight sequence due to lack of proper padding. A crew member of Sarkar 3 was injured due to a malfunctioning prop. There have been countless number of such instances throughout the history of cinema.
To tackle these issues and safeguard the rights of crew members, Film Industry for Rights and Equality (FIRE) was founded in 2017. But even since its foundation, nothing significant happened to change the scenario of the film making process in India. All the incidents reported above have occurred after the foundation of FIRE, still nothing has improved. FIRE has commented on the matter pertaining to Manada Kadalu as well, but mere comments and criticism cannot stop such accidents from happening. Many people have lost their families in the past due to the issue and the damage their families suffered is irreparable.
The law needs to take strict actions setting rules that ensure safety of the crew members while shooting a film. FIRE must undertake the responsibility of framing the required rules and proposing the government to strictly implement them. Strict measures should be taken against those who avoid following these rules. As the nation producing the most amount of films in a year, our main focus should be on the fact that no lives are lost or hampered while making a film.