Malayalam director Vysakh, known for films such as Pokkiri Raja, Seniors and Sound Thoma, returns with an action drama titled Pulimurugan.
“It’s the story of a wild hunter living in a tribal village inside the forest,” says Vysakh.
Mohanlal is Murugan, a man who is looked up to as a protector. Murugan is known for his valour and ability to kill tigers (puli). Thus the name Puli Murugan.
Bengali actress Kamalini Mukherjee plays Murugan’s wife while Tamil actress Namitha has a cameo.
Although the tiger is the focus of the story, Pulimurugan is a tale of family emotions, says Vysakh.
“Murugan is not a regular character played by [Mohanlal]. His body language and mannerisms for a jungle resident is different. Murugan is a family loving person, hardworking and a much respected man by the villagers,” Vysakh says.
“Every day was a challenge,” he said. “We shot for 160 days in the interiors of Poozhal Kutty forests of Kothambali. After travelling by jeep for two hours we trekked for some distance in the jungles. We carried with us large equipment too.”
Udayakrishna’s script has a wide canvas with around forty characters — Kannada actor Kishore plays a forest ranger; Telugu actor Jagapathi Babu makes his Malayalam debut as a villain and Lal Sr plays Murugan’s uncle.
With quite a few scenes revolving around the puli, the crew flew to Thailand to film with a real tiger.
“Working with an animal has its share of challenges. Our shots were canned depending on its mood. Some days we never got any,” he said.
Stunt choreographer Peter Hein worked with Mohanlal on the action scenes.
“For Kamalini, this is a new experiment. She has an action sequence too,” Vysakh said.
Pulimurugan, produced under the banner of Mulakupadam Films, releases in the UAE on November 3.
