Fresh off the experience of working with a veteran director like Cheran in Thirumanam, actor Umapathy Ramaiah finds himself playing the lead in debutant director Ra Mahesh's Devadas. "While Cheran sir's film had me playing an extremely subtle role, my character in Devadas, which is set in 2002, is diametrically opposite to it. I play a youngster from Thiruthani, who is pretty loud and over the top. I too sport a beard a la Devadas, but it is for a completely different reason," says Umapathy. 

Touted to be a laugh riot with a strong undercurrent of sentiment, Devadas also has actor Yogi Babu essaying a prominent role in the film. "He plays a college student, and I'm pretty sure his wisecracks and one-liners will leave the audience in splits," says Umapathy, who adds that another highlight of Devadas will be the presence of a dog, which plays an important role.

Will this Devadas also stay true to its title and be a typical love story with the sad ending? "No, no, this is a completely different film. Our Devadas revolves around a happy-go-lucky character who faces an extraordinarily good situation and an equally bad situation at the same time. How he deals with this is the rest of the story," says the Maniyaar Kudumbam actor. 

Bankrolled by Umapathy's father Thambi Ramaiah in collaboration with Shahul Hameed, the film is in its post-production phase. With editing by Ruben, and music by Dinesh, Devadas is expected to hit the screens soon.