Horror-comedy is a tried and tested genre for a commercially successful film, feels Kartheeswaran who has directed and played the lead in the upcoming film Pei Iruka Bayamaen. He believes his film will bring families with kids to the theatres, overcoming the fear of pandemic.  

"There aren't enough films for kids in Tamil cinema. Pei Iruka Bayamen is a film about ghosts with zero gory elements. Children will find the ghosts in our film funny rather than scary," says Kaarthieswaran.

On the comparisons to Dhilluku Dhuddu, which also has a male lead who makes fun of ghosts to chase them away, he explains, "The similarities end there. In our film, the leads tease the ghosts intentionally, fully aware of their form. But in the Dhilluku Dhuddu films, the hero usually mistakes them for humans."

Kaaathieswaran adds that Pei Iruka Bayamaen will be a standalone film, without a sequel.

Starring Gayatri Rema of Mugilan fame as the female lead, the film has music by Jose Franklin. It will hit the screens on January 1.