CHENNAI: The tragic incident in which three persons were killed and as many as nine others suffered serious injuries as a crane fell on them at the shooting set of 'Indian 2' at EVP film city on Wednesday night, has raised questions of the working conditions of the technicians in the cinema industry.
According to police, the men were preparing to set up the place for shooting a fight scene of director Shankar's 'Indian 2' starring actor Kamal Hasaan.
On Thursday, actor Kamal Haasan visited the Kilpauk Hospital mortuary to meet the family members of the deceased after which he told media, "I have come here because they are family to me. I do not feel this accident has happened on the production of Lyca but I feel it has happened to someone in my family," he said.
"It is shameful that our cinema industry is still not able to provide proper working conditions for its technicians. We boast about big-budget films but I think the entire cinema fraternity should work towards providing safe working conditions for the technicians which will be the only treatment to this incident," he added.
He also claimed to have narrowly escaped from the incident, "it had hardly been four seconds since the director had moved from the spot and if I had moved two feet to either sides from where I was standing last night, I would not be standing here now," he added.
One of the relatives of the deceased who had been in the industry for over 20 years also stressed the lack of safety for technicians in the workplace.
He also announced Rs one crore funds to the family of the deceased and injured.
"Earlier, only man handled cranes would be used on the set, but for this shooting, a crane made in China was used and it was the operator's mistake which caused the death of the three men. He should have been more trained with the equipment," he added.
Lyca production CEO - Tamil Kumaran along with director S Shankar and founder of Lyca production Subaskaran Allirajah also visited the mortuary and met the family members of the deceased.
While speaking to the reporters Tamil Kumaran announced Rs two crore to the family members of the deceased and the injured.
When questioned about the working conditions at the shooting set, Tamil Kumaran said, the team had taken all the safety measures and everything is covered under insurance.