Mysskin Biography

Indian filmmaker

Shanmugha Raja, known professionally as Mysskin, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, singer, producer and composer.

He made his directorial debut in 2006 with Chithiram Pesuthadi. His subsequent films Anjathe (2008), Nandalala (2010) and Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013) and Pisaasu (2014) received critical acclaim. He made his acting debut with Nandalala (2010), where he portrayed a mentally disabled man. In 2023, he debuted as music director with Devil (2024). He is considered an auteur in Tamil cinema.

Early life

Shanmugha Raja chose Mysskin as his *umed name, inspired by Prince Myshkin, the protagonist in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Idiot. His schooling was in Tamil. He is an avid book reader.

Career

Directing

Mysskin was working in a book store when director Kathir first asked him to join him. He was with him for nearly eight months but did not work in any movie. It was under director Vincent Selva that he did his first movie Youth, followed by Jithan, again under Vincent Selva.

Mysskin made his directorial debut in 2006 with the low-budget film Chithiram Pesuthadi, which went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year. A simple love story, it became a hit owing to the unique style the film was written in. The leads, debutants Narain and Bhavana, went on to become popular faces following the success. He then directed Anjathe (2008) which became one of the biggest blockbusters in Tamil cinema. The film received critical acclaim for all departments of filmmaking. The film was also noted for its narrative style and mise-en-scène, which marked an example of Tamil new wave cinema. It starred Narain, Prasanna, Ajmal Ameer, Vijayalakshmi, and yesteryear actor Pandiarajan in a never-before-seen role. Both films had his iconic yellow saree item numbers, which became big hits and captured the hearts of the young and old alike.

Mysskin went on to direct Nandalala (2010), a film loosely based on Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro (1999) and being completely different from his first two ventures. The film is about a young boy and a mentally challenged person going in search of their respective mothers. Mysskin himself chose to play the mentally challenged character (marking his major acting debut) after the script was turned down by many established actors. The film went on to become his most critically acclaimed film, with some critics calling it one of the best Tamil films ever made. Nandalala won the people's choice award at the Norway Film Festival.

His next film, Yuddham Sei (2011), a dark crime thriller was a hit at the box office as well. His visual style and directing prowess were appreciated and talked about by everybody. His next film, Mugamoodi , a commercial attempt at the superhero genre, received positive reviews from the public and media. His next film Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (2013), was a fast-paced thriller which received superlative reviews from all corners. Audience and critics praised the film as a trendsetter and the changing face of Tamil cinema. Mysskin also acted in the film as one among the two lead characters, an antihero.

Pisaasu released on 19 December 2014 and became a major success, receiving critical acclaim for its sensible portrayal of the supernatural, horror, and romance. It was one of the biggest commercial hits of 2014 in Tamil cinema and proved to be the most profitable Tamil film for the year. His next film was Thupparivaalan (2017), a detective thriller starting Vishal in the lead and heavily inspired by Sherlock Holmes. Mysskin went on to direct Psycho (2020), starring Udhayanidhi Stalin, Nithya Menen, and Aditi Rao Hydari. The film was a critical and commercial success and redefined the clichéd whodunit genre.

Acting

Mysskin has found success as an actor in films not directed by him. In the film Savarakathi (2018), he played the antagonist opposite director Ram. The film was an average commercial success but was praised by critics. He also had an important cameo appearance in Thiagarajan *araraja's Super Deluxe (2019). He has also played antagonistic roles in films such as Maaveeran (2023) and Leo (2023).

Filmmaking style

Mysskin is inspired by filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa, Robert Bresson and Takeshi Kitano. He is known for his peculiar combat sequences using elaborate storyboard and real unarmed martial strikes and stances; unconventional shots (like close-ups of feet); diegetic sound, light, silhouette and shadow; stage techniques (like monologue, face-floor, motion-freeze); staccato background score; meticulous scene and set construction; irony-laden dialogues; ellipses; minimalism; deep characterization (with archetypal hairdo, dress, accent, posture, gesture, locale, furniture); limited use of song c*ography; and neo-noir renditions where the lead role is not infallible.

Mysskin is known to start film shoot only after a bound script is ready. He rigorously annotates his scripts with cues and camera lens focal lengths for each scene. He says that his films are influenced by the works of Kurosawa. His plots predominantly deal with the urban poor and middle cl*. His films also have a recurring theme of comp*ion and redemption. His favorite directors are Bresson, Kitano, and Jean-Pierre Melville. He also borrows his filmmaking style from Kitano.

He *istant directors like G. R. Adithya and Sri Ganesh have also made successful films like Savarakathi and 8 Thottakkal.

Personal life

His younger brother Aathityaa directed Devil (2024), for which he composed the music.

Filmography

  • All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted.

As director

As actor

Other crew positions

This is a list of films Mysskin worked for other directors.

As singer

As lyricist

References

    External links

    • Mysskin at IMDb
    Mysskin