Muhammed Musthafa’s Mura, with all its tropes of a gangster drama — revenge, high-end action and bloodshed, may have bagged mixed reviews at the box office. However, the cast, especially the crop of young and new faces, has come in for unanimous praise.
The riveting narrative, set in Thiruvananthapuram, is about four college dropouts from underprivileged backgrounds — Anandu, Manaf, Manu and Siju. The roles are essayed by Hridhu Haroon, Anujith Kannan, Yedhu Krishnan and Jobin Das respectively, all of them natives of Thiruvananthapuram.
The foursome choose to work for a criminal gang led by Ani (Suraj Venjaramoodu), the trusted aide of Rema (Maala Parvathy).
The youngsters take up a high-risk task — stealing black money from a warehouse in Madurai, hoping it would ensure a better future for them. Two young men from the area, Malar (Krish Hassan) and Sitru (Vigneshwar Suresh), join them on the mission. But the heist has unforeseen consequences.
(From left) Anujith Kannan, Vigneshwar Suresh, Hridhu Haroon, Yedhu Krishnan, Krish Hassan and Jobin Das on the location of Mura
| Photo Credit:
Shalu Peyad
Currently, the boys are busy visiting theatres and enjoying the adulation coming their way. “It is overwhelming,” say the actors having excelled as the street-smart, impulsive, hot-headed bad boys with their unbridled energy, especially in the action sequences.
While Hridhu, Krish and Vigneshwar have worked in a few films, Anujith, Yedhu and Jobin are debutants. Musthafa says, “When we placed the casting call, we got over 6,000 entries. We picked applicants who belong to Thiruvananthapuram since the story is set there. We then narrowed it down to around 200 aspirants. But we couldn’t find apt actors from that list. So the team went around to colleges and acting schools looking for talents,” says the director.
An action scene from Mura being shot
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
For example, Anujith, currently pursuing his final year under graduation in Islamic History at University College in Thiruvananthapuram, was picked from his own campus. “Our team held an audition at the college. Those who turned up had to act out a scene that showed conflict and Anujith impressed us,” Musthafa says.
Yedhu came to know of the audition through his teacher. “Cinema was a dream. My tuition teacher, Ramesh, always encouraged me, so too my family. It was sir who told about Mura’s audition and I went there with my father. Since my Class XII exams were going on, my father was not keen on me doing it. But our director convinced him. My teachers also supported me,” says Yedhu.
Musthafa adds, “He impressed us with his acting. We weren’t sure whether he would look the age on screen but he pulled it off.”
The team took time to find the actor to play Saji until they noticed Jobin from Chengalchoola (now Rajaji Nagar) in Thiruvananthapuram. He was on the team of boys from the area who went viral four years ago with their videos recreating a fight scene and song from the Tamil movie Ayan, starring Suriya. “I had seen the video and thought that since they would have grown up by now, I might get my Saji from among them. A member of the direction team, who had an acquaintance there, got in touch with them and that’s how we got Jobin,” the director says.
A still from Mura
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The actors were put through a 10-day workshop to understand nuances of acting, filmmaking and to prepare for the action sequences. Since they all are from different parts of Thiruvananthapuram, dialogue delivery was a cakewalk. “We speak variations of Thiruvananthapuram dialect and we could keep that in the film,” says Anujith.
(From left) Actors Jobin Das, Yedhu Krishnan, Hridhu Haroon and Anujith Kannan
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Having Hridhu on board helped, say the other actors. He has done a web series and five movies, the notable one being All We Imagine as Light that won the Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival this year. “We had our doubts about how he would be on set. But he was extremely accommodating and guided us,” say Yedhu, currently studying law. To which Hridhu replies, “I learnt a lot from them as well. They are dedicated, chilled out and hard working. It was a comfortable space for me and none of us had any inhibitions.”
Musthafa says that he chose Vigneshwar after watching his role in the Malayalam film Thankam. “He was perfect to play Sitru. Through him I got in touch with Krish,” he says.
The duo is pleased that their work has been appreciated. “I came into the industry to become a writer and director but ended up as an actor. Now I plan to get back to writing and directing,” says Vigneshwar, who did a cameo in Qalb and will next be seen in Krishand’s Sambhava Vivaranam Nalarasangham-The Chronicles of the 4.5 Gang.
Krish’s portfolio reads films starring biggies of Tamil cinema, including Vaarisu, Thangalaan and Vettaiyan. “I was pursuing BDS course but dropped out to become an actor. When this role came, I was worried about the language. But since my character is from Madurai that part was taken care of,” says Krish.
The actors on the location of Mura
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“The boys are extremely talented and dedicated. They nailed it with their performance,” says Musthafa. The actors mince no words while praising their director. “Ikka (elder brother) was patient with us and didn’t get stressed even though there were enough reasons to get worked up. It helped that he is also an actor; he made us extremely comfortable,” says Hridhu. Krish adds, “He made us confident.” In fact, he would often make them do a huddle and motivate themselves, says Yedhu.
Stunt choreography by PC Stunts pushed their limits, the actors say, the toughest being the Madurai leg of the shoot. “We had night sequences, and it was exhausting. We all were drained out during the one-week-long shoot,” says Hridhu says.
A scene from Mura
| Photo Credit:
SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Anujith and Yadhu mention that the terrain was rough and hot, and they had to run through dry vegetation during which stones and thorns would pierce their skin. “Even if we were in pain, we continued to act so that the shoot was not affected,” Anujith says.
The actors are hugely appreciative of the film’s technical side. “Editing, cinematography, music, focus pullers… all of them played a key role in making a gripping narrative without any lags,” they say. They also make special note of the senior actors with whom they shared the screen. “All of them were supportive and gave so many suggestions that helped us to execute the scenes,” Yadhu adds.
Published – November 14, 2024 11:26 am IST
