In a heartbreaking incident, well-known stuntman SM Raju died on Sunday morning while performing a dangerous car stunt for the upcoming Tamil movie ‘Vettuvam’, directed by Pa Ranjith and starring Arya.
The accident happened in Tamil Nadu during the shoot of an intense action scene. SM Raju was driving a car as part of the stunt. A video from the set shows the car speeding before suddenly flipping over and crashing. Crew members quickly ran to help and pulled Raju out of the wrecked vehicle. Sadly, he had already passed away.
Neither the film’s lead actor Arya nor director Pa Ranjith have made an official statement yet.
Actor Vishal, who had worked with SM Raju in the past, confirmed the tragic news. He posted on social media saying,
“It’s hard to believe that stunt artist Raju is no more. I’ve known him for many years. He performed so many dangerous stunts in my films. He was a brave man. My deepest condolences. May his soul rest in peace.”
#Vettuvam, a gangster film by #PaRanjith starring #AttakathiDinesh and #Arya, had a stunt sequence that tragically resulted in the death of a person Mohan Raja 🥲
pic.twitter.com/g4LXDreVN8— Movies Singapore (@MoviesSingapore) July 14, 2025
Stunt choreographer Stunt Silva also expressed his sorrow on Instagram, calling Raju a “great car jumping stunt artist” and said the entire stunt community and film industry would miss him.
Who was SM Raju?
SM Raju, whose real name was Mohan Raj, was from Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. He was the son of Selvaraj and was 52 years old. He had worked in the Tamil film industry (Kollywood) for many years and was known for performing and coordinating risky stunts on several major film sets.
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About the Movie ‘Vettuvam’
‘Vettuvam’ is an upcoming Tamil movie starring Arya, Sobhita Dhulipala, Attakathi Dinesh, Kalaiyarasan, and Lingesh. The movie is in the final stages of production.
The sudden loss of SM Raju has left the film industry in shock and mourning.
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