The trailer of Madharaasi, director AR Murugadoss' highly anticipated film with Sivakarthikeyan was released on Sunday during the audio launch of the film that took place in Sai Ram College in Chennai. The teaser had several high-octane action sequences shot by DOP Sudeep Elamon. Commending his work in the film, the noted filmmaker recalled the time an accident took place on set that grievously injured the cinematographer.
"Sudeep will either be in the sky or under the sea. That’s the kind of cinematographer he is," he said with a smile. "During a high jump sequence featuring Sivakarthikeyan, Sudeep had to be behind him to capture the moment mid-air. Everyone clapped when SK landed... but in that same moment, Sudeep lost balance and fell. The next day, he came to the set with a bandage on his leg.
He went on to share an incident that truly defined the DOP’s commitment. "While shooting in Sri Lanka, a storm hit us hard—cranes shook, lights swung, and chaos took over. The rain was relentless. People rushed me to safety. And then, through the blaring sound and flash of an ambulance light, I saw something I’ll never forget," he narrated.
During the storm when a drone camera shook, Sudeep caught it to prevent it from injuring crew members. "In the process, one of its blades slashed his finger. He was taken to the hospital immediately. What moved me most was that, in the middle of that storm, on a pitch-black Sunday midnight, the entire crew was searching for Sudeep’s severed finger using their mobile flashlights. We were lucky. We found it and it was fixed just in time," he said.
Despite this harrowing incident, Murugadoss noted how Sudeep had returned to set the next day. "We had canceled the next day’s shoot, assuming he needed rest and a replacement would be necessary. But Sudeep showed up—possessive about his frames, passionate about his work," he said, applauding his unwavering dedication and physical commitment to the craft.
Madharaasi stars Sivakarthikeyan in the lead and Vidyut Jamwal as the antagonist. Rukmini Vasanth plays the female lead alongside a supporting cast that consists of Biju Menon, Vikranth and Shabeer Kallarakkal. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander and editing by A Sreekar Prasad.
