Tragedy strikes film unit in Nepal, dance director Vijay dies in accident

Three others in the unit also suffered injuries, but death was instantaneous for Vijay, said Maharshi, one of the three heroes in the film.

April 27, 2015 12:35 pm | Updated 05:50 pm IST - HYDERABAD:

Even as the members of the unit filming ‘Etakaaram.com’ were heaving a sigh of relief on their providential escape from the earthquake that devastated Nepal, a road accident claimed the life of Vijay, the choreographer for the movie, on Monday. who used to run a dance academy in Bapatla.

After wrapping up four days of shooting in a place called Kokra in Nepal, the unit was said to be returning to Kathmandu when the Tata Safari van in which the unit was travelling met with an accident. While details of what exactly happened were not forthcoming, it is said that the entire unit went by road all the way from here in two vehicles.

Three others in the unit also suffered injuries, but death was instantaneous for Vijay, said Maharshi, one of the three heroes in the film who did not go to Nepal because his presence was not required in the schedule. “I got a call at 3 a.m. today. I cant believe that this is happening to us. Vijay, a relative of my producer Kishan, was almost like a son to him. We are shattered,” the actor said.

On receipt of information, a friend of Dinesh, the hero on whom the dance sequence was shot in Kathmandu, left Hyderabad for Nepal on Monday morning. Mr. Maharshi said that he and another person would be leaving this evening to make arrangements for the body to be transported back home. “Following the accident, officials in Nepal are said to be going about doing the post-mortem and keeping the body in the mortuary,” he said.

Our Guntur Correspondent adds:

Vijay was a native of Bapatla in Guntur District and his family has been in the street living behind the Shadi Khana near marketyard. His family has been earning a living by selling steel utensils. Vijay was the youngest of four children and seeing his passion for dance, his uncle introduced him to a couple of directors in Tollywood.

Vijay was part of the 20-member crew of "Etakaaram.com’’, which left for Nepal on Friday. According to reports reaching here, the crew was shooting at a valley near Kathmandu when the devastating earthquake struck the region on Saturday. The crew called off the shooting but decided to resume on Sunday when a severe tremor jolted the valley again. Director Veerander Reddy and producer Ramesh Chandu were among the crew.

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