One Kannada actor's body fished out from lake after stunt

Bengaluru: The body of one of the two actors who drowned in a nearby lake enacting a stunt scene for a Kannada film was fished out on Wednesday, said an official. The two actors with the hero, Vijay, jumped off a helicopter into the lake while performing a stunt scene during the filming of a Kannada movie on Monday. While Vijay swam to the shore and safety, the other two actors drowned, according to the official. "A team of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) found Uday's body in the TG Halli in the middle of the lake around 4 p.m. while the search is on to trace Anil's body," Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner V. Shankar told reporters at the spot. Though the body was bloated and decomposed, it was identified as that of Uday from the long hair he sported, unlike Anil. "Uday's body has been sent to the state-run government hospital in the city for autopsy and will be handed over to the family later," said Shankar. Scuba divers from the naval base at Karwar in the state's northwest coast have joined the search and helped the NDRF personnel in locating Uday's body stuck in the silt and marshy backswaters of the lake. "We are confident of tracing Anil's body soon though poor visibility inside the lake, surface winds and polluted waters have been posing a challenge in the search and recovery exercise," said Shankar. The Thippagondanahalli (TG Halli) lake is about 40 km northwest of Bengaluru at the confluence of Arkavathy and Kumudavathi rivers in Ramanagara district. It is one of the sources of drinking water supply to Bengaluru. The stunt act was the climax of a scene in the upcoming film "Maastigudi" where the hero, Vijay, chases the two villains trying to escape in a chopper from the lake shore. The hero too hops onto the chopper, which flies over the lake's backwaters. As seen from the film footage aired on news channels, in a fight between the hero and the duo, the hero pushes both the villains from the slow-cruising chopper and joins them in the reservoir to carry on the fight. After the trio jumped into the lake off helicopter from about 60 feet during the shoot, they struggled to stay afloat. Vijay was rescued by local fishermen in a coracle while he swam towards the shore, while Anil and Uday drowned in the middle as they did not know how to swim and were not wearing life-jackets. "District police filed a case under various sections of the IPC against the film unit, including producer, director and assistant director for stunt acts for criminal negligence, failure to take precautionary measures like life-jackets and ensure safety," said Magadi Circle Inspector H.L. Nandeesha.