Actor Vishal is all set to make his directorial debut with the Tamil-Telugu bilingual, Magudam. Previously, when the 'Nachindhi Machanane' song was unveiled in Telugu as 'Nachaaka Vachera' at Hyderabad, the actor spoke about how Ram Gopal Varma inspired him to become a filmmaker.
Now, the actor-turned-director has revealed that he never thought about acting as a career option. He also disclosed that during his early years as an assistant filmmaker, he wrote scripts for Vijay. However, he explained that they never took off due to a key reason.
Speaking to Vikatan, Vishal said, "Even though it has been 22 years since my debut film Chellame, I've actually been part of the film industry for 35 years. Watching Ram Gopal Varma's Shiva gave me a whole new respect for filmmaking and direction. Inspired by that, I worked as an assistant director on several films."
On the scripts he wrote for Vijay, he added, "During that period, I had written many stories with Vijay sir in mind. But unexpectedly, I ended up becoming an actor instead." For the unversed, Ravi Arasu was initially announced as the director of Magudam, but he exited the project due to some reasons. Vishal then took the film on as his debut directorial.
While the complete details of the plot and characters are yet to be revealed, the teaser for the film features Vishal in three distinct looks across different time periods, with the actor possibly portray two or three characters, one of them named Linga. The cast of Magudam also includes Anjali, Dushara Vijayan, John Vijay, Jayaprakash, Ajay, Vamsi Krishna, Abu Salim, Arjai, VJ Jhansi, Padam Kumar, and Sabhumon, among others.
Production on Magudam was announced to be completed in November 2025, after a 17 day schedule for the climax. But sources close to the film confirmed that the film underwent reshoots and officially completed production only last month.
Composer GV Prakash Kumar reunites with Vishal, in Magudam, after Mark Anthony (2023). The crew of the film also includes directors of photography Richard M Nathan and Abinandhan Ramanujam, editor NB Srikanth, art director G Durairaj, and action choreographer Dhilip Subbarayan.
Super Good Films is producing the film with the late RB Choudhary as the presenter, while B Suresh, RB Jeevan Choudary, Jithan Ramesh and Jiiva are the producers. A release date for the film, titled Makutam in Telugu, is yet to be announced.