Three people, including director Pa. Ranjith, have been booked after senior stunt director SM Raju died tragically while performing a risky stunt scene during the shooting of Tamil film Vettuvan. The film stars actor Arya in the lead role. The incident took place on July 13 in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu when a car-flipping stunt went wrong. Raju was immediately rushed to the Nagapattinam Government Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead.
The Kilaiyur police have registered a case against director Pa. Ranjith, stunt choreographer Rajkamal, Neelam Productions and Prabhakaran. The case has now been filed under Sections 289 (negligent conduct), 125 (abetment of an offence), and 106(1) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS.
Earlier The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) issued a statement, blaming the production team for “criminal negligence” and demanding FIR against producer Pa. Ranjith, all co-producers, and Neelam Productions under relevant sections for criminal negligence leading to death, a compensation of Rs 1 Crore to be paid to the family of the deceased stuntman Mohanraj by the producers and a state-wide investigation and audit of all film shooting sets across Tamil Nadu, to identify unsafe sets and take strict action against producers who fail to follow safety norms, to the Honourable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri M. K. Stalin.
In a video that has surfaced from the set and has now gone viral on social media, a speeding car can be seen overturning and crashing violently. In the video, crew members can also be seen trying to pull SM Raju out of the debris, but his injuries were so severe that he could not be saved.
Raju was celebrated in Kollywood for his fearless and precise stunt execution. At present, the police is investigating who in the film team and production unit is responsible for this incident.
