the actor Raj Tirandasu She has entered the world of Malayalam cinema after her spectacular performance in Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa: The Rise’. The actress plays the role of Maari in ‘Kattalan’, which is set against the backdrop of violent ivory smuggling operations and gang rivalries. Talking about the project, Raj spoke to ETimes about one of the toughest aspects of the shoot. According to the actor, shooting action sequences alongside real elephants turned out to be one of the most challenging experiences of his career.The scenes were reportedly shot in Bangkok, using trained elephants that had previously appeared in film productions.
Raj Tirandasu says a small mistake could have gone wrong
Recalling the dangerous experience, Raj Tirandasu admitted that he felt scared in many situations because of the unpredictability of working with live animals. He told us: “It was honestly scary at times because we were working with real elephants who had already been part of other film shoots. One small mistake and things could have gone completely wrong.” Despite the pressure and fear, the actor explained that the unexpected brought a different energy to the action scenes. He felt that realism could not be recreated artificially.“Somewhere, that unpredictability gave the action a completely different energy. You can’t fake those reactions or emotions on screen,” Raj added.The actor stated that the makers deliberately chose real environments to make the action natural and immersive for the audience.
The makers of ‘Kattalan’ focused on realistic action sequences
Raj Tirandasu also shared that the team avoided over-the-top action choreography and instead focused on storytelling based on the entire film.“We wanted each fight sequence to feel raw, grounded and believable, rather than over-stylized. Working in real conditions helped us achieve this authenticity,” he told us.The actor also praised the efforts of the crew and action team in handling the large-scale sequences in difficult conditions. According to him, the audience will be able to feel the realism and intensity when they see the film on the big screen.“The effort put in by everyone in these sequences was incredible. When the audience sees the film, they will really feel the intensity and realism of those moments,” he concluded.
Kattalan opens to decent public reactions
Directed by debutant filmmaker Paul George, Kattalan finally hit theaters on May 28, 2026. The film created a lot of buzz before its release due to its narrative connections with the world established in ‘Marco’.Soon after the first shows ended, social media platforms were flooded with positive reactions about Ravi Basrur’s script, performances, narration style and background score.A user posted, “#Kattalan First Half Review Plot Ivory smuggling and Gang rivalry is an elaborate entry setup for the main characters, Strong Villians BGM By Ravi Basrur Average entry is great for Pepe. Not much momentum so far Interim lockout 2nd half needed solid 1st half decent.”Another audience reaction read, “#Kattalan gets a great response after the first half! Nice spine-chilling action blocks and storytelling becomes interesting and intense for the second half. All eyes on the second half! Ravi basur is peaking at the right time.”
Unni Mukundan gives instructions
Amid speculations about the larger cinematic universe associated with ‘Marco’, actor Unni Mukundan recently clarified that she is not associated with Kattalan or any related franchise plans.A statement released by his production banner read, “We would like to kindly clarify that Unni Mukundan is not a part of this project or any universe. We humbly request our fans and the public to refrain from any association with the project.” For the uninitiated, Unni Mukundan’s ‘Marco’ ended on a cliffhanger where Marco sees a child brought up by him kidnapped by a gang of thieves. In the promotional posters of ‘Kattalan’, he hinted at a possible connection with that scene.
‘Kattalan’ vs ‘Drishyam 3’
Apart from Antony Varghese and Raj Tirandasu, the film also stars Dushara Vijayan, Jagadish, Siddique, Sunil, Kabir Duhan Singh, Anson Paul, Parth Tiwari and Harishankar Narayanan in important roles.Meanwhile, the audience is eagerly waiting to see if ‘Kattalan’ will be able to cross the collections of Mohanlal’s ‘Drishyam 3’ which is running on house-packed shows in theatres.
