The stunt choreographer duo, Anbumani and Arivumani, have been removed from the South Indian Cine and TV Stunt Artistes Union. In a statement issued by the Union, it has been alleged that “Anbumani and Arivumani, who have been working as stunt director in the industry, have violated the union rules regarding stunt performances. The two have, under the pretext of rehearsals, been choreographing actors to perform dangerous, rope-based action sequences for films such as Madras and Kabali. This is in violation of the rules of the Union. The union’s governing body has therefore decided to remove them from the basic membership.”
The sibling’s who work under the screen name Anbariv, had choreographed stunts for films such as the Rajinikanth starrer Kabali and Karthi’s Madras. Challenging the decision of the Union earlier, the duo approached the Madras High Court and obtained an interim injunction against their removal.
Speaking about their latest developments regarding their removal, Anbu had told in an interview to the Silverscreen that: “We were planning to contest for the post of president of the Stunt Union in the upcoming elections. But the current president Somasundar and secretary Manikandan did not want us competing for the post. They tried to level all sorts of false charges on us. We train stunt artistes in our offices before going to shoot a film. We do this so that they are well equipped for the scene. But, one day, Somasundar and Manikandan told us that what we were doing is illegal and that we should ask the producer to pay. They simply chose to remove us from the union. They did not give us any reason, and we were not even asked to make a case for ourselves. That is when Lokesh Kanagaraj (director of Maanagaram) suggested that perhaps we should approach the Madras HC.”
(Content provided by Digital Native)