Mohan Raj, who was known by the name SM Raju, tragically lost his life while performing a high-risk stunt for actor Arya’s upcoming film Vettuvam, directed by Pa Ranjith. The fatal accident occurred on Sunday, July 13, during the filming of a stunt sequence involving an SUV that was meant to soar off a ramp and crash on impact. However, the execution went horribly wrong and the vehicle somersaulted mid-air before crashing, causing Mohan Raj to sustain severe injuries to his chest.

He was rushed to the Nagapattinam Government Hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. 

ALSO READ

The video of the stunt has now gone viral on social media. It shows a camera vehicle moving ahead while an SUV is supposed to run over a ramp and crash. However, the SUV somersaults before crashing. When the stuntman did not come out for a few seconds, the crew members could be seen running towards Mohan Raj’s vehicle, where they found him unconscious. 

‘Difficult to digest…’

Tamil actor Vishal, who is known for his work in ‘Avan Ivan’, has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of stuntman Raju. He also said that he would be there for his family. 

“So difficult to digest the fact that stunt artist Raju passed away while doing a car toppling sequence for jammy @arya_offl and @beemji Ranjith’s film this morning,” Vishal wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

He added, “Have known Raju for so many years and he has performed so many risky stunts in my films time and time again as he is such a brave person.”

Vishal further extended his support for the family. “My deepest condolences, and may his soul rest in peace. May God give more strength to his family for their grave loss. Not just this tweet, but I will definitely be there for his family’s future, being from the same film industry and also for his contribution to so many films. From the bottom of my heart and as my duty, I extend my support for them.”

ALSO READ

Popular stunt choreographer Silva, who has directed action for stars like Mohanlal, also extended his condolences to Raju’s family through a post on his social media handles. 

“One of our great car jumping stunt artists, S M Raju, died today while doing car stunts. Our stunt union and Indian film industry will be missing him,” he wrote on social media while sharing his photo. 

Who was Mohan Raj aka SM Raju?

Mohan Raj, who was also known as SM Raju, was a native of the Kanchipuram district. The 52-year-old was the son of Selvaraj. He had performed stunts on several big film sets and was a seasoned stunt artist in the Kollywood industry.