Mugamoodi

In September 2008, UTV Motion Pictures agreed to produce Mysskin's script, Mugamoodi (Mask), and subsequently signed on leading actor Suriya to play the role of the protagonist.[5] Pre-production work for the film began in late 2008, with the film also being referred to by the media as Agni Puthran.[6] The film was reported to be made at a cost of ₹50 crore with A. R. Rahman as music composer and Suriya portraying a karate fighter in the film.[7] However, in July 2009, Suriya opted out, and unsuccessful discussions were held with Vishal Reddy to replace him, forcing Mysskin to stall the project.[8] As the project remained dormant, Mysskin temporarily shelved the project and moved on to script a horror film.[9]

In October 2010, Arya signed on for the film with N. Linguswamy's Thirupathi Brothers production house replacing UTV as producers.[10][11] However, within months, Arya had pulled out as had Linguswamy. In June 2011, a new Mumbai-based company had taken the production reins whilst Jiiva, after the commercial success of his political thriller Ko, had signed on to portray the lead role.[12] Later that month, it was announced that Narain, who had worked with Mysskin in both Chithiram Pesuthadi and Anjathe, would portray the role of the lead antagonist with reports suggesting that the role would be reminiscent of The Joker / Scarecrow from English films, The Dark Knight and Batman Begins respectively. Narain claimed that his villainy in the film would be totally brutal. His character in the movie has no shades and is absolutely negative.[13][14][15] In early July 2011, sources reported that Amala Paul had been signed up to portray the lead female character in the film,[16] which the actress dismissed, with Dhananjayan of UTV also confirming that Amala was not approached for the role.[17] Pooja Hegde, second runner-up of the 2011 Miss Universe India beauty pageant, was eventually finalized as the female lead.[18] K, who had scored for Mysskin's Yuddham Sei in 2010, was selected as the film composer over two other music directors, while Madhan Karky would pen the lyrics, associating for the first time with Mysskin.[19] Veteran Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao was added to the cast in November 2011, which proved false, and he was replaced by Girish Karnad, while Prakash Raj was also reported to be playing an important role.[20] The following month, Nassar Muhammad was selected to portray a police officer.[21] Pooja Hegde appeared as Jiiva's lover in the film.[22]

Reports further claimed that both Jiiva and Narain would undergo special training in martial arts with experts from the Shaolin Temple in China being flown in. A large group of young aspiring artists were roped in to be part of the fight sequences which are touted be the highlight of the movie. The artists were trained for over 6 months at Mansuria Kung Fu YMCA, Nandanam, Chennai.[3][23] In fact, a lot of the kung fu content of the film were handled by the Grand Master R. Shekhar.[24]

High-end gadgets to be used in the film were reportedly designed by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), while teams from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) were roped in to create the costumes and looks of the characters.[3] Furthermore, a Los Angeles-based firm would handle special effects, while action sequences are planned to be choreographed by stuntmen from Hong Kong.[3] Costumes are designed by Gabriella Wilkins, and it is said that Jiiva's superhero outfit weighs more than 10 kg.[25][26][27]

Shooting of the film started officially on 12 December 2011 with the opening scene of kung fu as that was so spoken about.[28] The film is expected to be released during Summer 2012.[29] The film was being canned in the nights in and around Triplicane in Chennai where the fight scene of Jiiva and Narain was shot in terrace.[30] Mysskin is planning a 20-day schedule to shoot the climax at Karaikal. The shoot concluded at Karaikal where daredevil stunts were performed by the lead actor at an altitude of 180 feet high where in the Karaikal port's conveyor belt passes over. Many scenes were also filmed at AVM studio where huge hospital set was erected and also at Victoria hall, Deaf and Dumb school.;[31] Tony Leung Siu Hung, a stunt coordinator from Hong Kong, has joined the climax shoot of the film that's being canned in a massive scale at Karaikal.[32][33]

Mugamoodi received mixed reviews from critics. IBN reviewed the film positive and cited that it had a "different flavour" further adding: "For those who love the West and East's action films, Mugamoodi combines both to give some pleasure".[43] Behindwoods Review Board rated it 3 out of 5 stating that it had a "pacy first half, [a] slow second half but [was] compensated by the overall performance and effort of the cast & crew".[44] Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu noted that it "travels on a terrain that’s new to Tamil cinema" and lauded Mysskin, saying that his "effort to make Mugamoodi appear as authentic as possible deserves to be commended".[45] Prakash Upadhyaya of Oneindia.in recommended the film with a 3.5 out 5 rating.[46]

However, Sify termed the film average and a "one-time watch", calling it "good in parts" and claiming that it had "very good music and background score by K, but lacks a proper script and a racy presentation".[47] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars, writing that it had "all the makings of a successful film but ends up disappointing", particularly criticizing Mysskin's screenplay that "fails him spectacularly".[48] Vivek Ramz of In.com rated it 3.5 out of 5 and said that "Mugamoodi is no Batman, just Kanthaswamy revisited!"[49]