Mysskin

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mysskin

• Mysskin is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, singer, producer, and composer. He predominantly works in the Tamil film industry.

• He commenced his career in the film industry as an assistant to director Kathir. Kathir had noticed him while he was working at a bookstore and asked to assist him in filmmaking. He worked with Kathir for nearly eight months but didn’t get any work during that time.

• After making his acting debut with the Tamil film ‘Youth’ in 2002, he played a small role in the film ‘Kadhal Virus’ in the same year.

• In 2005, he played a supporting role in the Tamil film ‘Jithan.’

• He penned the lyrics of two songs titled “Aaahayam Aaahayam” and “Idhu Enna Pudhu Kanavo (M)” for his directorial debut film ‘Chithiram Pesuthadi.’

• After making his debut as a director and writer with the Tamil film ‘Chithiram Pesuthadi’ (2006), he wrote and directed the film ‘Anjathe’ (2008), which gained attention for its distinctive narrative and visual presentation, becoming a significant work in Tamil new-wave cinema. He also sang the songs “Kannadhasan Karaikudi” and “Acham Thavir” for the film.

  

• In 2010, he played his first lead role in the Tamil film ‘Nandalala,’ based on the 1999 Japanese film ‘Kikujiro.’ He also worked as a director and writer for the film. The film was well received at the box office and also won the People’s Choice Award at the Norway Film Festival.

• In an interview, he revealed that when he approached the actors to play the lead role in his film ‘Nandalala,’ none of the actors agreed, which led him to take on the lead role himself. While talking about it in the interview, he said,
  

  I had a good story with me, which I was not able to convert to a movie because all the actors whom I approached were reluctant to do such a subject, this went on for nearly 2 and a half years. But I could not afford to shelve this story, so I decided to take it on myself.”

• He had to lose around 20 kilograms of body weight to play the role of Bhaskar Mani in the film ‘Nandalala.’

  

• He sang the song “Bar Anthem” for the 2012 Tamil film ‘Mugamoodi.’ He also wrote the lyrics for the song.

• He worked as an actor, director, writer, and producer for the Tamil film ‘Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum’ in 2013.

• In 2017, Mysskin directed and wrote the Tamil film ‘Thupparivaalan,’ drawing inspiration from the Sherlock Holmes stories. He also sang and wrote the lyrics of the song “Ivan Thupparivaalan.”

• The following year, he played the role of Mangeswaran in the Tamil film ‘Savarakkaththi.’ He also worked as a writer and producer for the film.

• Mysskin has written and directed various Tamil films such as ‘Yuddham Sei’ (2011), ‘Mugamoodi’ (2012), ‘Pisaasu’ (2014), and ‘Psycho’ (2020).

• He appeared alongside Vikranth in the Tamil film ‘Suttu Pidikka Utharavu’ (2019) in which he played the role of Ibrahim.

  

• In 2021, he made a cameo appearance in the Tamil film ‘Bachelor,’ starring G. V. Prakash Kumar.

• In 2023, he appeared in the Tamil film ‘Maaveeran’ in which he played the role of M. N. Jeyakodi.

• In the same year, he essayed the role of Shanmugam in the Tamil film ‘Leo’ (2023) and received immense praise for his performance.

  

• Mysskin has appeared in a few more Tamil films including  ‘Kattumaram’ (2019), ‘Super Deluxe’ (2019), and ‘Are You Ok Baby?’ (2023).

•  In an interview, he revealed that he had to change his name from Shanmugha Raja to Mysskin after he started working in the film industry. He said that when he came into the film industry, there were already many celebrities having ‘Raja’ in their names. Therefore, he decided to choose a unique name to distinguish himself in the industry. He revealed that his stage name ‘Mysskin’ is inspired by the name of the protagonist of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel ‘The Idiot.’

• Mysskin is known for his unique way of filmmaking. He uses detailed storyboards, creates realistic fight scenes, takes unusual shots, meticulous set construction, and makes characters with lots of depth.

• He mainly explores the themes of compassion and redemption in his films, focusing on the struggles of the urban poor and middle class.