The shoot is on in full swing. An actor, covered in blood and deep gashes, is reviewing his last scene on the monitor. This is his fourth take, but action director Sham Kaushal wants one more. He requests the assistant director to capture the same shot from another angle.

It's a majestic set replete with mighty statues, the king's throne, lofty pillars and buzzing market areas with hundreds of fire torch lights. Though it seems like the makers of Mamangam, starring superstar Mammootty, are trying to reach the benchmark set by SS Rajamouli's Baahubali and its subsequent sequel, the actor makes it abundantly clear, "we aren't competing with anyone".