So, word is out today, both Shahid and Hrithik were injured on set, delaying filming of Rangoon and Mahanjo Daro respectively.  Which is kind of an odd coincidence (do you think there is any chance it was really a secret underground dance-off which damaged them both?), but not that unusual, as onset injuries are fairly common in Indian film.

But, why are they so common?

Well, let’s look at these two sets of injuries to start with.  Shahid was injured in the course of filming a fight scene in the rain.  He broke his finger, and caught a serious cold thanks to spending six hours soaking wet.  He also injured the actor acting opposite him, who was taken to the hospital.

Hrithik apparently also hurt himself during an action scene, tearing ligaments in his leg and hurting his ankles, and being ordered to bed rest for at least two weeks.  Both films have been significantly delayed.

In Hollywood, you may get these stories occasionally, but in India, practically every star has suffered some major injury on set.  Why?

I think there are 3 things that make a difference:

1. The media reports these injuries stories more widely, and the stars themselves feel a greater responsibility to keep their public informed as to their health (remember Amitabh’s tweets early this month keeping us all up to date about his mild rib strain?), because India relates differently to its stars, more personally.
2.  It’s more work, and more dangerous, to be an Indian film star than an American.  An American star isn’t going to run so fast and so hard that he snaps a ligament and breaks an ankle.  Or to do a 6 hour fight scene in conditions so bad he spikes a fever.  Sure, there are the occasional stories like Viggo Mortensen breaking his toe on the set of Lord of the Rings.  But these are outstanding exceptions, not considered just the price of doing business.  And Mortensen wasn’t expected to tie up his toe and keep filming for another week, as Shahrukh did when he injured his knee while filming Koyla on remote location (he tied the heroine’s scarf around his leg, not as a love token, but to hold his knee in place)
3. Call me crazy, but I think there is a little bit of PTSD in the Indian film fan community, and media, from Amitabh’s Coolie incident.  If you remember, it was a fairly small injury at first, during a fight scene he was shoved hard on to the corner of a table.  He finished out the day’s shoot, and only later did the pain get bad enough for him to be taken to the hospital, where massive internal bleeding and organ injuries were discovered.  And then all of India held its collective breath for weeks while he hung between life and death.  Anyway, I do wonder if the careful coverage of every single onset injury of actors is because no one wants to be caught unawares again, whether it is the fan ready to pray for health, or the media ready to set up a 24 hour news cycle.

Of course, all of this could be avoided if films took some basic safety precautions and stars took proper rest following injuries.  But that’s never going to happen!  Stars would be ashamed to request it (that’s why they’re stars, they will risk their lives for our entertainment on a regular basis), and film producers wouldn’t want to insult them by offering it!