He’s a full fledged doctor with an MBBS degree from Pondicherry University. But his passion being cinema, newbie Veera decided to try his luck in films. After a year long acting course at Theatre Lab, he did the usual rounds in Kollywood, struggling to get into films. Then lady luck smiled and producer John Max of Shalom Studios cast him as the lead in Mosakutty.
“It’s a story set around Madurai, Dindigal and Kerala. I play an unemployed youth,” Veera tells CE, after the grand audio launch. The actor changed himself completely for the role. “I had to get tanned, put on 10 kilos and grow a beard to turn into the character of Mosakki,” says the soft-spoken actor, a vast contrast to the ruffian on screen. What’s more, he lived in the villages for a few weeks, and underwent training with director Jeevan to observe the lifestyle of the local villagers.
While romance with Mahima proved difficult for the debutant, the tougher parts were the action scenes choreographed by Supreme Sundar. “There are not many fights in the film, but they are highly risky, nail-biting stunt scenes. These involve chases and several cliff -hanging shots,” he adds.
After much prodding, Veera recounts, “In one scene, a jeep is hanging precariously off a cliff. I had to climb down and pull out around 10 persons and lift them back to safety. If anything went wrong, we would have fallen deep into the valley in the swirling waters of the river below,” he said. In another scene, he had to climb a tall tree in the hilly area along with Mahima. Once on top, the duo had to fall down. “I had to fall, carrying her on my shoulder. We literally fell off by breaking a branch. Though ropes were tied for safety, they were released at speed for the right effect. So we ended up falling with a bang on the ground with her on top of me. The height was roughly the same as a three-storey building since hill trees are very tall.”
After Mynaa and Sattai, Shalom Studios is producing Mosakutty. Sukumaran is the cameraman, while the music, launched by Bharathi Raja, is by Ramesh Vinayagam. Director Jeevan has written the lyrics.