100-foot crane came crashing towards her on ‘Indian 2’ set: Kajal’s ‘miraculous’ escape, then devotion to Krishna
Photo: Collected
A crane about 100 feet tall was crashing down towards her. South Indian film actress Kajal Aggarwal claims she survived miraculously that day. When screams and panic suddenly broke out all around, Kajal too ran along with everyone else. Meanwhile, she bumped into a table and fell. When she got up and looked back, she saw the crane hurtling towards her. Seeing it come crashing down before her eyes, she froze; she felt she might not survive.
The accident took place in February 2020 on the shooting set of the film ‘Indian 2’ in Chennai, India. Three people died that day when the crane collapsed, and several others were injured. In a recent interview with ‘Humans of Bombay’, Kajal spoke about her terrifying experience that night. How she came back after getting so close to death still makes her wonder today.
Director Shankar’s ‘Indian 2’ was then being shot at EVP Film City in Poonamallee, Chennai. Kajal and actor Kamal Haasan were on the set. Kajal said that at the time of the accident they were sitting in front of a monitor while an action scene was being shot. For that scene, she had been made up with prosthetics to look like an 80-year-old woman.
Recalling the moment she bumped into a table and fell while running to save her life, Kajal said, ‘Maybe I would have been the first to die.’
What happened next was even more frightening. While running, she suddenly felt she needed to turn round once to see what she was running from. When she looked back, she saw the crane, about 100 feet tall, coming towards her.
Describing that moment, Kajal said, ‘Everything happened in a split second. I saw the crane collapsing. I was completely frozen. I couldn’t understand what was happening.’
Kajal felt as if someone had pulled her out of the crane’s path. The crane crashed down right beside her. She was still trembling with fear. The actress said that remembering that moment still gives her goosebumps.
The accident not only spared her life but also changed the way she thinks about life. Kajal said that before this she had been quite happy with her career and success. Only a short while earlier, her wax figure had been unveiled at Madame Tussauds museum in Singapore. But after the accident, questions arose in her mind about her very survival. She kept wondering how she had been saved from such great danger.
Kajal said, ‘How am I alive? It’s not possible that I came back alive like this.’ For several days after the accident, she felt both terror and gratitude at the same time. After this experience her devotion to religion deepened, and she shaped herself into a devotee of Krishna.
The film’s production house Lyca Productions, director Shankar and actor Kamal Haasan stood by the families of the dead. A few months later, the family of each of the three dead was given compensation of Rs 1 crore. A seriously injured worker received Rs 90 lakh. A further Rs 10 lakh was set aside to help those with minor injuries.
Background
Deccan Herald reported on 20 February 2020 that the crane collapsed on Wednesday night. The three dead were assistant director Krishna and production assistants Madhu and Chandran. That report also mentioned the narrow escape of Kamal Haasan, Kajal Aggarwal and director Shankar.
According to a 3 March 2020 report by news agency IANS, Chennai’s Central Crime Branch police had summoned Kamal Haasan in connection with the investigation into the crane accident.
Sources
Original report: Bangladesh Pratidin
Background sources: Deccan Herald, 20 February 2020; IANS, 3 March 2020
