BENGALURU: "It all happened in five to six seconds," said Ravi Verma, stunt choreographer for the climax scene of Masti Gudi, still shaking his head after two actors, Anil and Uday, drowned while filming it on Monday.
"The saddest part is that even with safety measures like boats, swimmers and stuntmen we couldn't rescue them," said Verma.
Explaining the incident to New Indian Express, he said, "The two knew how to swim but then they had never tried this kind of stunt before. We had even asked them if they were okay doing this. Both wanted to try this stunt because they wanted to work with Duniya Vijay whom they considered as their guru."
"Unfortunately, they couldn't hold their breath for five seconds after jumping into the water. They drowned even before the boat reached the spot. I saw Uday raising his hand and gesturing his distress."
Verma said that he came to know later know that the duo had been working out for six-pack abs and were on a diet. "I guess that's one of the reasons. Every bit of the climax scene has been captured by electronic media, and all the facts are right in front of our eyes."
Uday had been working with Verma as a stuntman while Anil was associated with Duniya Vijay for many years. "Vijay also jumped along with them. He was calm and composed and managed to swim, but the other two couldn't reach the boat. This was a scene that the script demanded and we went with it," he said.