May 28, 2015
India’s Jackie Chan has proved why no one comes close to what he pulls off, on and off screen. Like Chan, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar does his own movie stunts. And off screen, he leads the personal accident insurance list. He has recently been insured for Rs 35 crore under a personal accident policy purchased by Hari Om Entertainment and Sunshine Pictures for ‘Holiday’, according to an Oriental Insurance executive.
“This is the highest cover taken by a Bollywood star,” said the executive, who did not wish to be named. Unlike Kumar, Bollywood’s highest-paid actors, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan, do not generally seek accident covers in their film contracts. Production houses take a cover of Rs 5-10 lakh for every member of the crew to cover medical expenses towards any shoot-related accident. Some years ago, actress Kangna Ranaut is said to have included a personal accident clause with a Rs 1-crore cover in her contract for ‘Queen’. Kumar’s recent hits include ‘Rowdy Rathore’, ‘Baby’, ‘Khiladi 786’ and ‘Special 26’, which feature him in action-oriented roles. He got hurt in 2013 while shooting the Vipul Shah-directed ‘Holiday’. Kumar has also got a personal accident cover for ‘Airlift’, shooting for which has just begun.
“The production house has taken a cover of approximateely Rs 20 crore as accident cover for Akshay Kumar,” said Sumant Salian, business head, media and entertainment, Alliance Insurance Brokers. The concept of insurance for movie stars is yet to catch on in Bollywood. In Akshay Kumar’s case, it is an exigency — he plunges headlong into risky sequences and insists on not using body doubles, something that has earned him the title, ‘Khiladi Kumar’