Director Mahi V. Raghav had some glowing praise in store for actor Mammootty after wrapping up the film shoot. "Its the end of our Yatra with Mammootty. 390+ movies, 3 national awards and worked with 60+ debutant directors. More than these , he is a great mentor and a wonderful human being," he wrote on Facebook.
"He has nothing to prove. He can simply walk away into the sunset and still remain a legend. It is our tradition and culture to respect our guest. Sure, you can criticise him and tear him apart if he has failed as an actor or has not lived up to your expectation. As a critic and audience, you are entitled to it. But here is an actor who listened to the script in Telugu, learnt the meaning of every word, wrote every single word in his language and delivered the lines on the set superbly."
"Here is an actor who dubbed and re-dubbed every line to make it as authentic it can be. He is so much in love with our language, culture and films and has nothing but admiration for it. I couldn’t have asked for more! With my hand on my heart, I can say that no other actor could have made this character and script as alive as he did. He is truly magical, wonderful and I am grateful to the Yatra we had," he wrote.
After almost two decades, Mollywood star Mammootty had decided to star in a Telugu movie—a biopic on the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The film was named Yatra, directed by Mahi V. Raghav.
The biopic will concentrate on the time period from 1999-2004, when YSR took out a 1,400-km padayatra that shaped the politics of the undivided Andhra Pradesh. As reported by Times of India, the director dismissed speculations that Tamil star Suriya had been approached for the role of Jagan (YSR’s son) and Nayanthara for the role of Vijayamma (YSR’s wife).
