Friendship with death in a 22 feet deep well, the story of these stuntmen who thrill others for a few bucks is painful

New Delhi: You must have come across the Maut Ka Kuan when you visited a fair in your childhood. In small towns, it is watched with great interest. In a place that looks like a ditch as deep as a well, many stuntmen risking their lives have been seen performing stunts inside it. The discussion on this dangerous sport that is getting extinct with time has started once again. The reason is the viral music video of Indian rapper Hanumankind aka Suraj Cherukat. his/her new song is being liked a lot not only in the country but also abroad. People who perform stunts with cars and bikes in the ‘Maut Ka Kuan’ put their own lives at stake for a few bucks. This risky stunt is being discussed more than the entertainment of the people.

‘People who make our videos become famous’
Rubel Sheikh, a native of Malda, West Bengal, has been exposing himself to this danger for over a decade. For Rs 18,000-20,000 a month, we risk our lives daily to entertain others. The videos we shoot with our stunts go viral. Can we also make videos and increase our viewership? But we don’t know how to edit. Rubel Sheikh is the sole earning member of his/her family of five.

Know about the well of death
The 28-year-old man who built the Maut Ka Kuan first assembles it using nuts and bolts and then rides it around the circle with Maruti 800 cars and old Yamaha and Pulsar bikes. Maut Ka Kuan, also known as Well of Death, is a daring motorcycle or car stunt performance that began in American carnival sideshows in the early 20th century. Car and bike riders defy gravity and drive their vehicles around the well at high speed. People find it quite entertaining to watch, but it is quite risky. The stunt performers sometimes walk outside the car, and sometimes by leaving the handle. It is completely suspended by centrifugal force.there is also a risk to life
Despite the hordes of motorcycle influencers performing heart-stopping wheelies for internet audiences these days, the ‘maut ka kuan’ performance is still going on in small towns and villages. Accidents are common. In April, a stuntman and his/her female colleague were injured when the car tyre punctured mid-way. Last year, about nine people were injured after a bike stuntman lost control and rammed into spectators at a fair in Asansol, West Bengal.

Sajan Seth explains that once you start your vehicle inside the well, there is only danger. But we cannot wear helmets while performing stunts. The riders have to look sideways and behind to communicate and cooperate. Someone keeps breaking an arm or a leg. We also provide treatment to cure it. Sajan Seth started a small company of ‘maut ka kuan’ artists after 15 years in the profession. he/she is now camping at a fair in Raiganj in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal and plans to entertain 20 spectators by riding a Maruti 800 into the well. Two other bikers will slide off the edge of their seats to add some more drama. he/she said that when we were new, we used to get terrible dizziness.

This stunt doesn’t happen in big cities
Now, we have become used to it, says Seth. Rising fuel costs and modest ticket prices mean that profit margins are low. Older models of Maruti and Yamaha RX100 are silenced so that the roar adds to the thrill for the audience. People often hang from the edge of the well to catch notes for the riders. The high-pitched sound of the bikes does not allow us to perform in big cities. “It is a major issue that we are restricted to small towns and villages, though we want better opportunities,” says Anil Khan, 46.

There was a death well in Salman Khan’s film too
Many professional stunt performers in the film industry have tried the death well with greater protection and support. Saharanpur-based stunt double Javed Gauri, who performed the ‘maut ka kuan’ act for Salman Khan in the 2019 film ‘Bharat’, holds practitioners of the sport in the highest regard. Javed Gauri further said that it is the most dangerous of all vehicle stunts I know. The risk of death is high and if even one biker falters, the others inevitably go down with him/her. he/she said that I have performed the motodrome act on a scooty in Saharanpur fairs, I have also done it for college and corporate shows for brand promotions.

Gauri says Salman bhai was impressed with my performance in the film ‘Bharat’ and after that I got my stunt double gig for ‘Race 3’ in Dubai. Sheikh, currently near India’s Bhutan border, will be performing at an expo. he/she said when the show season is over, he/she returns to the village and works in the fields. Still, the thrill of the well keeps calling him/her back. he/she feels happy to see the audience happy.