Maasti Gudi Effect: Kannada films now get insured

One of the major discussions in the aftermath of the tragedy on the set of the Kannada film

Maasti Gudi

— when two actors died in a stunt gone wrong — was the absolute lack of safety measures on film locations. This was once again reinforced when a junior artiste was found dead in mysterious circumstances on the set of the Kannada remake of VIP.
Often, precaution, if any, is taken only for the lead cast, while supporting characters and crew are left to fend for themselves in dangerous situations. This is set to change, what with the makers of a couple of upcoming Kannada films opting for the next best solution — insurance.
The team of director TN Seetharam’s in-production

Coffee Thota

is the first to benefit from this strategy. Actor

Rahul Madhavan

, who is a part of the film, was pleasantly surprised when he was asked to furnish personal details for an insurance coverage. “Coffee Thota is a film being made under the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) module. Everyone who has invested in this project is responsible only for his/her share of the profit or loss. Since we had already done this, we also wanted to minimize our problems or losses in the event of a mishap. For this, we have insured our film to the tune of `2.5 crore, which not only covers the lives (accidental death or injury) of the principal cast, but the entire crew and equipment, and the cost of reshooting any portion owing to the loss of equipment, accidental erasure, etc. All aspects of the making, except the box-office result have been covered under the comprehensive policy,” says Ramachandra from the production team of the film, adding that the decision was spurred owing to the spate of recent tragedies in the industry. The next film to take a similar route is Darshan’s

Tarak

, which went on floor earlier this week. Aakash D Yajaman, who put together a policy for the film team, says that it happened at Darshan’s insistence. “Tarak is a big-budget film, at roughly `16 crore. Premiums are around 0.6% to 1% of the total budget. Apart from coverage for the cast and crew for accidental injury, hospitalization and death, what is also covered is any cost towards rescheduled shoots due to the non-availability of artistes, poor lighting, destroyed print, etc. The policy also covers petty cash on set for day-to-day expenses, as well as any loss of props and equipment, among others,” says Aakash.

Coffee thota insured for Rs 2.5 cr`
Coffee Thota is a film being made under the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) module. Directed by TN Seetharam, it stars Rahul Madhav, Raghu Mukherjee, Radhika Chetan and Samyukta Hornad

Tarak insured for Rs 16 cr
Tarak is Challenging Star Darshan’s 49th film, which is being directed by Prakash (Milana fame). The film, which went on floor on March 1, has Sruthi Hariharan in the lead along with Darshan


Highlights of the policy

• Premiums vary between 0.6% and 1% of the total budget
• Cover for cast and crew on life, accidental injury and any hospitalization on set
• Cover for reshoots due to non-availability of artistes, poor lighting, print getting destroyed, etc
• Cover for loss of equipment, props