Tamil film stunt artist Mohan Raj tragically dies on sets during movie shoot in TN's Nagapattinam

Chennai | Popular stunt master Mohan Raj alias S M Raju (52) died during the shooting of an action scene for a film in Tamil Nadu's Nagapattinam, a source close to him said on Monday.

Raj, who was driving an SUV in a high-octane stunt scene for director Pa Rajnith's Vettuvam, in Nagapattinam on July 13, suddenly collapsed.

His colleagues pulled him out of the vehicle and rushed him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Video of the incident, which went viral, shows those on the sets frantically running to his rescue. He is seen being extracted from the car.

Mohan Raj was a native of Kancheepuram near here.

"One of our great car jumping stunt artists, S M Raju, died while doing car stunts. RIP. Our stunt union and Indian film industry will be missing him,” Silva, a stuntman and an actor said in a post on the social media platform X.

"The news of the death of stunt master Mohan Raj Annan (elder brother) fills me with shock and pain. Today, my heart flutters as I think of the days when you bravely overturned that lorry in the final scene of Vaazhai (film) and shocked everyone. You and your bravery will always be remembered, brother," director and screenwriter Mari Selvaraj said on 'X'.

Stunt community mourns S M Raju's tragic death on Tamil movie set

Mumbai/Chennai | Stunt artists including veterans Sham Kaushal, Ram Shetty and Aejaz Gulab and others on Monday mourned the death of popular stuntman S M Raju during the shooting of an action scene for director Pa Ranjith's film "Vettuvam".0 The 52-year-old stuntman, whose real name was Mohan Raj, was driving an SUV in a high-octane stunt scene for the film in Nagapattinam on July 13 when he suddenly collapsed. His colleagues pulled him out of the vehicle and rushed him to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Video of the incident, which has gone viral on social media, shows those on the sets frantically running to his rescue. He is seen being extracted from the car.

According to stunt directors and artists, car stunts in movies are inherently more dangerous and unpredictable than any other action sequence though security precautions are taken before shooting such sequences.

Veteran stunt director Sham Kaushal, who has worked on “Dunki”, “Gadar 2”, “Ponniyin Selvan”, “Laxmii”, “Sanju”, “Padmaavat”, “Bajirao Mastani”, “Krrish 3”, “Gangs of Wasseypur” and others, said Raju's death is unfortunate.

"I read about it and I’m saddened to hear about his unfortunate demise. I haven't worked with him, but stunt people are like a close-knit fraternity," he told PTI

"When you do a stunt with a car, it’s a combination of a human and a machine. In that case, if there’s a misjudgment, then it can be dangerous. The nature of stunts is that they’re risky," he added.

Gulab, who is the general secretary of Movie Stunt Artists Association, said he saw the video on the internet and it is unfortunate that Raj lost his life.

"A car or motorcycle-related stunt is often risky. Whenever a stuntman performs, the action director ensures that an experienced stuntman performs such risky scenes. SM Raju was known for performing such stunts. Unfortunately, this incident has happened," Gulab, who has worked in movies such as "Baazi", "Josh", "Khiladi 420" and upcoming films "Dhurdandar" and "Battle of Galwan", said.

The stunt artists association has about 600 members and was formed in 1959.

Silva, a stuntman and actor, also mourned Raju's death in a post on social media platform X.

"One of our great car jumping stunt artists, S M Raju, died while doing car stunts. RIP. Our stunt union and Indian film industry will be missing him,” he said.

Stuntman Shankar, who sustained severe injuries while performing a car stunt on “Chennai Express”, said he is saddened by Raju's death.

"I know that Raju performed car stunts like me. We worked together on two South Indian movies about 20 years ago. I saw the video, and he is like my brother, and I feel very sad that this incident happened," Shankar told PTI.

The stuntman, who continues to perform stunts even today, received severe burn injuries when the car he was sitting in caught fire during a stunt shoot.

"It’s been 13 years since I suffered injuries. The inspection is conducted on the car, about its speed and its working condition. The car stunts are the most dangerous. You need daring to do car stunts, and you need to be fit physically.

"After the ‘Chennai Express’ incident, I continue doing car stunts like I did in ‘Total Dhamaal’ and for a music video of Himesh Reshammiya," he said.

Ram Shetty, a former stuntman and stunt director, who has worked in the industry for over 50 years and on movies including “Yaadon Ki Baarat”, “Dharmatma”, “Vaastav”, “Sadak”, Tezaab”, and “Laadla”, said his heart goes out to the stuntman's family.

"It’s unfortunate that such instances happen where someone loses their life. I’ve never worked with him (Raju). My heart goes out to his family. It’s because of financial reasons that people take up this job as there’s no educational qualification required.

Some people are specialists in car and motorcycle stunts. They are very risky to perform," he said.

Stunt artist Parvez Shaikh, said Raju had done some of the biggest stunts in his career and his death is unfortunate.

"It was a very upsetting news. The accident occurred while he was performing a car stunt... I pray for his family. Stunts are risky and a stuntman's family knows that they will get hurt on the job..

"Everyone tries to ensure the best possible safety but such things happen, its not very frequent but such incidents happen."

Arvind Gupta, who has performed stunts on films like "Maalik" and "Adipurush", said stuntmen join this risky job for money.

"Performing a car stunt is risky. It's heartbreaking to know about him. I don't know him personally, though. I’ve been in the industry for around ten years, and we’re here for monetary reasons," he said.