Akshay Kumar, who earned himself the reputation of an action star initially in the film industry, has often praised the real behind-the-scenes heroes — the stunt performers. In fact, he launched an insurance scheme for them two years ago. Recently, Bittoo and Hari Singh, members of senior action director Sham Kaushal's team, were hurt during the rehearsals for a song launch of Good Newwz in Chandigarh. Although Akshay was not present there, he reportedly rushed to the aid of two with help of film's producer Karan Johar. The actor-producer then arranged for an air ambulance to fly one of them down to Mumbai for necessary medical treatment.
Recounting the incident, Sham told a leading daily, "I sent three members of my team for the rehearsal. It was important to check if the wire work was smooth and performing the stunt was a safe proposition. As part of the stunt, Bittoo and Hari Singh were attached to the winch machine and were performing [stunts mid-air]. But during the second round of rehearsals, the machine collapsed due to a technical malfunction and the boys had a freefall from a height of nearly 10-12 feet." While Bittoo had suffered shock to the spine, Hari was discharged the next day.
When news of Bittoo's injury came to Akshay's knowlegde, he made sure to arrange medical assistance for him. "Akshay paaji was at a shoot in Hyderabad, but was keeping a constant check on the boys. On Friday, he and Karan's team arranged for an air ambulance so that Bittoo could be flown down to Mumbai. Now, he has been advised two months of bed rest," Sham signed off by saying.
Good Newws, co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Diljit Dosanjh and Kiara Advani, is slated to release on December 27.
(Source: Mid-Day)
