Actor-politician Kamal Haasan on Tuesday said that the members of the film fraternity in Tamil Nadu will soon meet to discuss on ensuring safety on film sets to avoid fatal accidents. Appearing before the Chennai police in connection with the crane crash accident that claimed the lives of three of his colleagues on the sets of Indian 2 on February 19, Haasan said that he gave whatever details the police wanted with regard to the accident.
“I gave answers to the questions put before me by the police. I have given whatever the details I knew. Very soon the members of our film fraternity will meet to discuss on the safety measures to be followed in the film sets,” Haasan told the media, after appearing before the police. The interrogation went on for more than two hours.
The founder leader of Makkal Needhi Maiam was summoned by the Chennai Central Crime Branch police to appear in person in connection with the crane crash case that led to the death of three men, including an assistant director on the sets of Indian 2, which was shot at the EVP film city, located in the outskirts of Chennai. Nine others were injured in the accident. Haasan luckily escaped from the accident as he moved from the spot a few minutes before the crane fell. The Chennai police had registered a case of negligence causing injury and death. The police had said that the responsibility for the accident will be fixed after a detailed inquiry with all the stake holders and also after studying the forensic report.
Last week, after the summons, the film’s director Shankar appeared before the police for inquiry. The accident has caused a stir in the film industry circles, raising questions about safety. In fact, Hassan himself lamented on the lack of safety measures being ensured during shoots in every film sets. He called for immediate action in the Tamil film industry to ensure safety of workers.
Shortly after the incident, Haasan wrote to Lyca Productions, asking about safety audit and insurance cover for the crew. Lyca Productions replied that Haasan was also involved in every aspect in the film and was always in control. It hinted that any responsibility for the accident is collective among the producer, director and Haasan. “Incidents of such nature should be dealt with collective responsibility. It hardly needs any reminding that the entire shoot was under the control and supervision of yourself and director,” Lyca’s response to Haasan said.
