poor safety low pay high risk the real action heroes on film sets get a raw deal as the recent deaths of two kannada stuntmen during a shoot showsthey play a crucial role on screen but their presence barely registers theyre cinemas stunt artists the anonymous bodies that catch fire crash through glass free fall from the 30th floor and get blown up in explosionsas stunt masters we have to know every aspect of the sequence because we are responsible for the safety of the stunt artists who work with us says arivu one half of action choreography duo anbuarivu the 31yearold twins who started in kollywood or the tamil film industry are in demand even in bollywood for their natural fighting they were seen most recently in the rajinikant film kabalirecently two kannada stuntmen died while jumping into a reservoir during a shoot highlighting issues of safety and compensation but most stunt artists usually just grit their teeth and take the risk this is the only source of income for most stunt artists if someone refuses there are 10 others waiting in line says sanobar pardiwala 30 one of the dozen stuntwomen in bollywood who has been a stunt double for kareena kapoor and katrina kaif im very careful about the action directors i work with says pardiwala who is trained in martial arts and gymnasticsyounger stunt artists are following a passion but not the earlier generation reshma pathan 62 who became famous as hema malinis double in the unforgettable scene of a tonga overturning in sholay says she got into it to make ends meet i was 14 when i started i was the oldest of five siblings my father was sick my mother did odd jobs says pathan who retired four years agoa stronger union technology new equipment and digital models have made taking a tumble safer but its still high risk there are no specific insurance plans yet we have approached insurance agencies for policies for stuntman but they refuse saying these are risks we take of our own free will says sunil rodrigues president movie stunt artiste association msaa which represents 540 stuntmen and 108 action directors while union laws make it compulsory for producers to bear all medical expenses and pay for 15 shifts a month if a stuntman is unable to return to work due to injury on set it does not cover all risks it covers performance not rehearsal many get injured during practice he saysarivus brother anbu had a lifebattle to deal with during the shoot of tashan when he had to drive a jeep into the pillar of a flaming building lighter fluid spilled on him and he ended up with severe burns arivu had to lie to the family that they were stuck for a month on location when they were actually in hospitalaction choreographers anbu and arivu worked on kabalithreat from abroadforeign stunt artists have been steadily eating into their work stunt artists earn about rs 4000