Director Nagashekhar and stunt choreographer Ravi Verma surrendered before the Ramanagara police on Saturday, November 12. They had gone missing after budding actors Uday and Anil Raghav died while shooting for the film, Masti Gudi.
Speaking to the media, actor Duniya Vijay said that Nagashekhar and Ravi Verma came to his house on Saturday morning. "I brought them to the station after requesting the duo to surrender before the cops," the actor said. Defending the innocence of the producer, he added, "The cops have booked Sundar Gowda as the first accused in the case. He has no connection to the deaths and further investigation will prove it."
Anil Raghav and Uday drowned while shooting a dangerous action sequence at Thippagondanahalli Reservoir, 35 km west of Bengaluru recently. The action sequence was being shot under the supervision of stunt master Ravi Verma.
Duniya Vijay, Anil Raghav and Uday were part of the sequence, where the three jumped into the lake, which is estimated to be between 30 and 60 feet deep, from a helicopter hovering at about 100 feet.
While Vijay was rescued by the team, the other two were drowned. Their bodies were found after extensive search conducted by several teams. The deadly climax sequence was apparently planned without taking adequate safety measures, which cost the lives of the two budding actors.
A suo moto case has been lodged against the film unit of Masti Gudi by the superintendent of the Thippagondanahalli reservoir at Tavarekere Police station. An FIR has been filed against five members from the film unit, including director Nagashekar, action choreographer Ravi Verma and producer Sundar under IPC section 304, 188 and sub-section 34.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce has banned Duniya Vijay, Ravi Verma and Nagashekhar until further notice. Sa Ra Govindu, the president of the association, said that the producer had no role in the deaths and that he should be freed.
