Kamal Haasan, S Shankar and Kajal Aggarwal survive 'Indian 2' filming mishap by a whisker

Tamil film icon Kamal Haasan, actor Kajal Aggarwal and ace filmmaker S Shankar “escaped death by a whisker” in the crane collapse incident on the sets of the Indian 2 movie on Wednesday night that claimed three lives.

Three people -- Krishna, an assistant director, and production assistants Madhu and Chandran – were killed and 10 others were injured when a crane used in the shooting at the EVP Film City on the outskirts of the city collapsed on Wednesday evening.

Eyewitnesses and costume designer Amritha Ram took to Twitter to narrate the horrific accident. They said the film’s crew including Kamal Haasan, Shankar and Agarwal were at the spot when the incident took place and they escaped by a whisker.

Sources in the crew said Wednesday’s schedule was fifth day of the shooting for the much-awaited movie, bankrolled by Lyca Productions, and the incident took place during the rehearsal for an action sequence. The incident has raised several questions over safety compliance by production houses while shooting.

Kamal Haasan himself acknowledged that he could have been a victim of the unfortunate incident and stressed the need to take enough safety measures to ensure every person of the crew is protected from such accidents.

“I shouldn’t be telling this today. But I could have been in this room today (hospital where the injured were admitted). The director moved away from the spot four seconds and so was the cameraman. The heroine and I were standing inside the structure. If I had moved two inches here or there, someone else would have been speaking to you here,” the actor told reporters after meeting the injured.

The actor said he would contribute Rs 1 crore towards providing relief to families of the dead and injured. Kamal Haasan said precautions need to be taken by the film industry to avoid such incidents in the future.

“Providential escape from the ghastly mishap. Literally 10secs away from being crushed under. Fortunate Kamal sir, Kajal and me who were right under are safe. Count your blessings (and) our crushed canopy under the crane. We are #safe RIP our fellow mates,” Amritha tweeted.

Indian 2 is the sequel to Kamal Haasan’s 1996 blockbuster Indian and the actor has been shooting for the film for the past few months.