Soori braves the sea for his biggest film yet!

We had told you that Soori and Tollywood actor Suhas will be pitted against each other in director Mathimaran Pugazhendhi’s Mandaadi , which revolves around sailboat racing. Now, we have learnt that Tourist Family fame Mithun Jai Sankar will feature in a key role, as a sailboat player, and Mahima Nambiar, who will be paired opposite Soori, will have two looks in the film.“Mahima will appear both as a young girl and a middle-aged woman. When we were looking for a heroine, many actresses didn’t agree because of the role; they were also hesitant to pair up with Soori anna. This was before Maaman came out,” shares our source in the film’s team. To maintain authenticity, the film is largely being shot in the seaside region of Thondi in Ramanathapuram. “The sea scenes are being shot entirely on the sea,” shares the source and adds that shooting on the sea comes with its own set of challenges. “You cannot immediately go for a retake. The boats keep shaking and it takes time to assemble everything and get everything back to the same position. And these are not motorboats, but sailboats. So, we have to direct them in terms of the wind position. If the direction of the wind suddenly changes, the boat begins to drift. In October, the team even lost a day’s footage after the camera fell into the water, and had to reshoot the portions,” the source explain.We hear that Soori and the artistes underwent sailboat training in Thondi with the local players. “Soori is leaving no stone unturned as this film is his biggest outing yet as a hero, at a ₹75-crore budget. The team is also dubbing it in Telugu and Hindi, as the subject is pan-Indian. So, he is performing the risky action sequences on the sea without opting for a body double,“ says the source.Action choreographer Peter Hein has worked on the stunts for nearly 60 days. “For the sailboat racing portion, the makers brought in foreign action specialists, international sports cameras and highend filming equipment. Almost 90 per cent of the visuals have been shot live with minimal VFX,” the source informs.