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Stunt artist S Mohan Raju died in a car crash on Sunday, July 13, while filming an action sequence for Pa Ranjith’s upcoming film Vettuvam starring Arya. The incident took place around 9 am in Vilundamavadi in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district.
A video of the stunt has emerged which shows an SUV driven by Raju taking off from a ramp at a high speed. The car then flies in the air for about 10-20 meters, spins twice and makes a hard landing. The crew who immediately rushed to Raju’s help found him unconscious. An ambulance kept on standby rushed him to Orathur Medical College Hospital. However, doctors declared him brought dead.
Raju was seen wearing a helmet for safety. According to reports, the car’s hard landing injured his chest. The local police have registered a case. Meanwhile, the production of the film has been halted temporarily.
Responding to the incident, actor Vishal, who is also the general secretary of the Nadigar Sangam (South India Artistes’ Association), said that Raju’s contribution to the Tamil film industry was immense. He also promised to take care of the stunt actor’s family.
“So difficult to digest the fact that stunt artist Raju passed away while doin a car toppling sequence for jammy @arya_offl and @beemji Ranjith’s film this morning. Hav known Raju for so many years and he has performed so many risky stunts in my films time and time again as he is such a brave person. My deepest condolences and may his soul rest in peace. May God give more strength to his family for their grave loss. Not just this tweet but will definitely be there for his family’s future, being from the same film industry and also for his contribution to so many films.
From the bottom of my heart and as my duty I extend my support for them. God bless” (sic), Vishal wrote on X.
Similarly, stunt master Silva expressed his condolences adding that Raju was an expert in car stunts.
Vettuvam is directed and produced by Pa Ranjith under his banner Neelam Productions. Besides Arya, the cast includes Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashok Selvan, ‘Attakathi’ Dinesh, and others.