Veteran actor Kamal Haasan on Thursday said he escaped death by a "whisker" when a crane came came crashing down on the sets of his latest venture Indian 2, killing three technicians.
He said ace director Shankar could have also died had he not moved away from the spot just four seconds earlier.
"We escaped by a whisker. Four seconds before (the incident), the director (Shankar) and cameraman moved away and I was standing nearer along with the heroine (Kajal Aggarwal)," he said.
Talking to reporters after paying homage to the three victims in Chennai, the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) political party chief also announced Rs 1 crore as immediate relief to the families of the victims and those injured.
This was some kind of an interim relief as he knew the pain of recovering from an injury, Haasan said.
He said if he had not moved, someone else would be addressing the media on Thursday instead of him.
"What I am saying is accidents are like tsunami. It does not know who is rich or poor.”
“Any industry, including Tamil film industry has the responsibility to take care of its workers. Through you I urge (the industry) to take steps to safeguard the workers," he said.
Haasan said the cinema industry may boast of Rs 200-300 crore ventures but it was a matter of 'insult' that it could not protect its own.
There should be a mechanism to protect workers in the cinema industry, the veteran opined.
Accidents were waiting to happen and one should ensure they don't, he added.
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On Wednesday night, three technicians involved in the Shankar-directed venture were killed and nine others injured when the crane came crashing down.
Shooting was going on at a film city in nearby Nazrathpet.
A case has been registered against the crane operator, who is absconding, under various sections of the IPC, including causing death by negligence, police sources said.
Indian 2 is a sequel to the blockbuster Tamil movie Indian by the Kamal Haasan-Shankar duo in the 1990s, which reflected on the social evil of corruption, with Haasan donning the protagonist's role of a freedom fighter taking on the system.
Shankar had added spice to the script by infusing 'varmakalai', a traditional self-defence art hitherto unknown to a large population, in it.
Meanwhile, Haasan's MNM announced he will not take part in the party events related to its third year inaugural celebrations scheduled on Friday, due to the "sad incident" on Wednesday (accident on the sets).
