‘The Sword of Tipu Sultan’: The movie that killed 62 people
Just how safe is a movie set? Hollywood would have you believe that they are impenetrable from harm, where safety supervisors are in place for safety supervisors, but the reality of the industry that is struggling to make ends meet is that corners are being cut. In most cases, a lack of proper safety protocols can lead to an actor becoming seriously injured at worst, but in history’s most tragic on-set production, it can result in a mass loss of life.
The fateful production occurred in 1989, when the Indian historical drama The Sword of Tipu Sultan was being filmed, one year before it would air on television on the DD National. Based on a novel of the same name by Bhagwan Gidwani, the drama was a historical epic that told the story of the life of Tipu Sultan, the Indian Muslim ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, who also happened to be a pioneer of long-range artillery.
With an all-star cast that included the likes of Shahbaaz Khan, Mukesh Rishi and Sanjay Khan, the TV movie was highly-anticipated at the time, not least because the novel was a best-seller, parcelling out 200,000 copies across the world. The author of the book, Gidwani, was also the one responsible for the screenplay, with the high profile of the production making its fate all the more tragic.
In the Premier Studios of Mysore on February 8th, 1989, a vast fire broke out on the set of the TV movie, with the final death toll totting up to a shocking 62 people, a stat that gives The Sword of Tipu Sultan the bleak record of being the movie that has resulted in the most amount of fatalities. Sanjay Khan, who played the title character, suffered from severe burns, resulting in him undergoing 72 surgeries whilst starring in hospital for a total of 13 months.
As for the reason behind the tragic fire, experts blamed the almost total lack of ventilation in the building, furthermore, the walls had failed to be fire-proofed, a grave error considering the 120°C temperature of the on-set lights.
Reflecting on the incident, Khan later penned in his autobiography, The Best Mistakes of My Life: “Shooting started in the evening and after a couple of shots, at around 8.30 p.m., as the lighting was going on, I went out to chat with my writer, Nawa Lucknowi. About half an hour later, I heard a huge commotion from inside”.
Khan added: “I ditched the cup of tea I was holding and charged through the small wicket gate as the big barn doors of the studio were closed. What I saw shook me to the core. The left half of the studio was on fire. Above, on the catwalk, I could see a lighting man trying to put out the flames with a piece of cloth. I shouted to him and ordered him to jump down immediately. At the same time, I told somebody to open the barn doors and another person to call for the fire brigade”.
Continuing, he explained: “Just then something hit me on the back of my head like a cannonball and I fell to the ground. I later learnt it was a tin of paint. Undaunted, I carried on with the gash it left in my head and focused on the job at hand: saving my crew. In retrospect, I obviously didn’t realize the severity of that crater, one that would bullishly remain with me for an excruciatingly painful nine months”.
The Indian actor and film producer remains alive and well to this very day, and whilst The Sword of Tipu Sultan, remains his final acting role, he went on to enjoy a career in producing, even if the weight of the 1989 tragedy still stays with him.
