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Wholesome experience: (top, from left) Director Rajasekar, Vishal, Visual effects supervisor Craig Mumma and producer Vikram Krishna.

Craig Mumma has worked with ‘Mortal Combat,’ ‘Independence Day,’ ‘Godzilla,’ ‘Dr. Dolittle,’ ‘Stuart Little’ and ‘Swordfish’ to name a few. And Indian cinema is not new to him. Landing in India on October 2001, his first assignment was ‘Devadas’ in Hindi. Since then he has been associated with more than fifty films including ‘Krissh,’ ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ and ‘Lakshya.’

“Visuals form the backbone of a film,” says Mumma. “The visual effects bring out what a director has dreamed up. In order to achieve the result, the supervisor must be involved from start to finish, beginning with the script. Each shot must have his stamp. But the major work is during post-production,” he adds.

Craig Mumma has worked for Prasad EFX in all the productions. His services were sough by ‘Sathyam,’ producer Vikram Krishna, who says, “There are no compromises. We have a car chase and also some shots at the Airport. When I heard about Craig I was eager to engage him and he has been doing a fantastic job.”

The car chase, being shot at the new 100ft. Rd, that appears in the film

Vishal does the lead role in ‘Sathyam’ as a police officer. “I should have done this film at least two years ago. But I waited until I could give it undivided attention. I wanted it to be our home production. My inspiration is Dr. Rajasekar’s ‘Ithuthanda Police’ and then Sathyaraj’s ‘Walter Vettrivel.’ In real life, I like our police officer Shylendra Babu whom I consulted to learn the nuances. He gave me tips teaching me a few things about body language. I do only one film at a time and right now ‘Sathyam’ has got my full attention,” says the hero.

Vishal, assistant director to Arjun in some of his films, joins the discussion when action sequences are planned.

Craig, who has worked with stunt masters all over the world, is happy with ‘Kanal’ Kannan.

“‘Kanal’ Kannan knows what he is doing. And we’ve struck a rapport. We have realised that the film needs both of us for its success,” he says candidly.

Craig Mumma has no favourites among his works.

“I have done films of different kinds. There is no question of best or the worst. We always want to enhance the scenes and make it a wonderful and worthwhile experience for the public,” he concludes.

‘Sathyam’ has Vishal and Nayanathara in the lead with R.D.Rajasekar behind the camera and A. Rajasekar directing it. The film is produced by Vikram Krishna.

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