Debutant director Asif Kuraishi calls his first feature, Utharavu Maharaja, a 'psycho thriller devoid of the conventions of the genre'. He adds that there is no message as such in his film, which hits the screens tomorrow.

The filmmaker, a self-professed fan of Alfred Hitchcock, says, "The protagonist (Udhaya) has four different dimensions to his character. And Prabhu plays an interesting role, which has shades of the one his father, Sivaji Ganesan, played in the delightful Mudhal Mariyadai.''

Utharavu Maharaja's music director, Naren Balakumar, is also making his debut with the film. Asif says Naren's focus was on the background score, as the film contains only two songs. 

The director is also introducing three new female actors from the modelling world. "This was also a conscious decision. I wanted fresh faces for this fresh script."