Director Mahi V Raghav has wrapped up the shoot of 'Yatra', the YS Rajasekhar Reddy biopic. Mollywood actor Mammootty is essaying the lead role.

The filmmaker today paid a rich tribute to the lead actor for working extremely hard on the movie. "Here is an actor who listened to the script in Telugu, learnt the meaning of every word, and wrote every single word in his language and delivered the lines on the set superbly. Here is an actor who dubbed and re-dubbed every line to make it as authentic it can be. He is so much in love with our language, culture and films and has nothing but admiration for it," Mahi says.

"He is truly magical, wonderful and I am grateful to the 'yatra' we had. He has done 390+ movies, won 3 national awards and worked with 60+ debutant directors. More than these, he is a great mentor and a wonderful human being. He has nothing to prove. He can simply walk away into the sunset and still remain a legend," the director says with a sense of pride.

"It is our tradition and culture to respect our guest. Sure, you can criticize him and tear him apart if he has failed as an actor or has not lived up to your expectation. As a critic and audience, you are entitled to it," Mahi submits humbly.

The biopic will head to theatres on December 21, which is YS Jagan's birthday.