For stuntmen, it's life on the edge

MUMBAI: As you heave a collective sigh of relief at Hrithik Roshan escaping death while shooting a stunt scene in Singapore, stop to think of other lesser mortals like Salim.
The 27-year-old stuntman is now lying in Nanavati Hospital with a fractured skull, waiting for his producer to foot the bill, before he is discharged from the hospital.
Salim was hurt while performing a motorcycle stunt on the sets of I Am In Love earlier this month.Munna, another stuntman who was with Salim during the film shoot, said: "Salim lost control of his bike and fell on his head.
Doctors have told us there is one surgery still to be done," Munna said. "The producer was initially nice to Salim," said a stuntmen's union member.
"But now he has started dilly-dallying on payments," he added. Salim's case displays how stuntmen are forced to live a life on the edge even off the sets. Vinod Khanna duplicate stuntman Rashid Mehta said that there was no cover for stuntmen.
"We have spoken to various insurance companies but the association cannot afford a premium of Rs 2,500 for each member. So we have told our members to get insured on their own," he added.
A stuntman who doubles up for a film's hero gets Rs 2502 for an eight-hour shift; otherwise he gets Rs 1113.
And, if shifts do not end on time, producers are known to ask stunt directors to "cooperate" instead of paying bonus. And, as for safety measures, it all depends on producers.
Bilingual films have now become a headache for stuntmen; actors get paid for both films but stuntmen are paid for only for one film. "We have faced problems with Kisna and Mangal Pandey. We have to claim Rs 75 lakh from the producers of Mangal Pandey though the producer of Kisna has now decided to clear our payments," Mehta informed.