Mammootty is known for his stellar acting skills, but his latest film, OM – Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood, has revealed another side of his professionalism. Director Rajkumar Periasamy recently shared how much effort the actor puts behind a film before shooting begins.
A few days before the cameras started rolling, the veteran actor invited the director to his home in Kochi for a script reading. They spent two and a half days understanding the story, discussed every character and followed the plot from beginning to end. He wanted to understand every part of the film before stepping on the set.
The director said this was not just a regular reading session, as Mammootty wanted complete clarity about the story. By the time filming began, the actor was fully prepared for his role.
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In an interview with Galatta Plus, Rajkumar Periasamy explained, “My experience with Mammootty sir was interesting. I narrated the story to him in Chennai. I had already shared several details with him before and then we waited for a few months. He took his own time.”
“I sent him a synopsis and after reading it, he immediately responded, ‘Sounds good. Let's meet sometime.' I thought, just getting a reply like this is a big deal. As I continued to wait, it reached a critical point, where I felt, ‘A decision has to be made, I have no idea if he's going to come on board or not.' That day, I received a call from George, his manager, asking me to meet them in Chennai.”
The filmmaker shared that Mammootty liked the story when he first heard it at his home. The actor had already read the script and was able to visualise how his character will look and behave on screen. By the end of the meeting, the actor had shown his interest to be part of the film. The director still wanted to make sure the actor had agreed, as he had seen people change their minds after giving a positive response.
The shoot was planned for later months. Around 10 days before filming began, Mammootty invited Rajkumar Periasamy to Kochi and spent two and a half days listening to the script. The director explained that a usual script reading involves all the actors reading their own parts together. This helps the team understand how scenes will move forward, where music can be added and where silence is needed.
According to Periasamy, “His approach was different. We covered up to the interval on the first day and then the entire second half on the following day. On the third day, we spent half a day focusing exclusively on his scenes. He didn't really ask about the character's nature or personality, he asked very little about that. He asked things like, ‘Does he have children? Where do they live?' and since I had photos related to those details, he looked at them and wanted to know even more. He always arrived fully prepared. He completed all that preparation well in advance.”
OM – Chapter 1: Udhiram – The Blood Wood, scheduled to release on November 20, also stars Dhanush and Sai Pallavi.
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