14 July,2025 12:09 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Stuntman SM Raju dies
In a shocking incident that took place on Sunday, a renowned stunt artist SM Raju, lost his life after a stunt went wrong on the sets of filmmaker PA Ranjith's upcoming film, which features actor Arya. The incident reportedly took place on Sunday, July 13. A horrifying video of the mishap has now been circulated online, leaving many heartbroken.
Notably, SM Raju was a seasoned veteran stuntman in the Tamil film industry. He was well known for his fearless and precise execution of action sequences in several films.
In the video circulating online, SM Raju is seen performing a car-toppling stunt, when his car suddenly loses balance as soon as it goes on the ramp. The car then turned several times mid-air before it landed on its front end. It took a couple of minutes for the crew shooting the sequence to realise what had happened after the car toppled. As soon as they realised, they rushed towards the car, but unfortunately found Raju severely injured. He is believed to have succumbed to his injuries.
The news of Raju's demise was later confirmed by actor Vishal, who had worked with the late stuntman on several projects. Taking to X, he wrote, "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. I have known Raju for so many years. He has performed so many risky stunts in my films time and time again as he is such a brave person." (sic)
He also extended support to Raju's bereaved family, adding, "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. God bless (sic)."
Meanwhile, actor Arya and director Pa Ranjith are yet to react or share an official statement regarding the incident. Vettuvan is reportedly a multi-starrer also starring Sobhita Dhulipala, Attakathi Dinesh, Kalaiyarasan, and Lingesh.
