Rag Mayur on ‘Anumana Pakshi’: I have delivered my most unfiltered performance yet

The Telugu film Anumana Pakshi is likely to be an acid test for actor Rag Mayur, marking his first theatrical release in a solo lead role. The title, which translates to ‘a suspicious bird’, is indicative of someone prone to overthinking and suspicion.

“I tend to overthink in real life, so I could relate to the character when director Vimal Krishna approached me with this script,” says Rag, adding that Anumana Pakshi shifts genres every 20 or 30 minutes. The film’s promos show him suspecting nearly everyone and every aspect of his day-to-day life, triggering chaos.

This is the actor’s first collaboration with director Vimal Krishna and a line in the promos states ‘from the twisted mind of the director of DJ Tillu’, hinting at the eccentric comedy in store. Speaking about the character-driven film, Rag says, “I play a guy who is likely to watch a video online, buy some chemicals, test the milk in his house and when it changes colour, dissuade everyone from consuming it.”

The film is essentially pitched as a comedy, and Rag says the audience can witness how the humour holds as the narrative undergoes genre transitions. “We begin by establishing the character and his world before moving into zones of thriller, mystery, and horror.”

Vimal contacted Rag soon after DJ Tillu had become a runaway hit in 2022, albeit for another story. By then, Rag, recognised for his performance in the indie film Cinema Bandi, had begun exploring varied opportunities. He headlined the web series Sivarapalli (an adaptation of Panchayat), was a part of the web series Modern Love Hyderabad, and took on diverse roles in films such as Keedaa Colaa, Subham, Paradha, and Mithra Mandali, among others. Backed by training in theatre, the former corporate employee gradually began establishing himself in Telugu cinema, proving he could be convincing in comic roles as well as roles with grey shades.

Intermittently, when Vimal was exploring the possibility of another film with a star actor, Rag focussed on other films. Eventually, Vimal and Rag regrouped for Anumana Pakshi. “Vimal and Siddhu Jonnalagadda (actor and co-writer) had created something very original in DJ Tillu. During my initial interactions with Vimal, I was amazed at his keen observations and his knack of writing something out of the ordinary,” says Rag.

Rag Mayur in the film
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

For four months, Rag and Vimal had several discussions on how the lead character needed to be portrayed so that his eccentricities would translate into a fun movie-watching experience. “My character goes into extreme suspicion mode leading to a butterfly effect. He does not stop at being an overthinker, but plants suspicion in others as well. He fears fatal outcomes from ordinary incidents and inculcates fear in others. There is psychology at play in how he uses suspicion as a weapon to play mind games and wriggle out of tricky situations. Vimal and I knew that for the film to work, this character needs to land well. We spent considerable time fine-tuning every aspect.”

Rag likens the “madness” in his character to iconic characters played by Charlie Chaplin and Mr Bean, with a distinct identity. “Imagine watching them do their thing in diverse genres. That’s how we want the audience to experience this film.” 

Rag Mayur
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement/Ashwin R

Anumana Pakshi has a runtime of less than two hours, and the actor says it was intentional not to stretch a concept-driven humorous narrative. He adds that the humour stems from the script and does not resort to the recent shortcuts of recreating or commenting on social media memes. 

Anumana Pakshi unfolds between Visakhapatnam and Kashmir, and Rag hopes it will mark another turning point in his career. While he is fondly referred to as Maridesh Babu or Shyam sir, referring to his roles in Cinema Bandi and Sivarapalli, a solo hero project for a theatrical release had been elusive until now. “Vimal gave me the freedom to improvise my lines so that they appear spontaneous. I think I have delivered my most unfiltered performance yet,” he says.

(Anumana Pakshi is scheduled to release on September 25)