A romance film, with humour and family sentiments, is usually considered a safe bet and a proper launch pad for a director. However, filmmaker-actor Pari Elavazhagan believes the opposite is true, and that was why, though he is a comedy lover, he decided not to go with that genre as his first film. "I can watch comedy films all day, and even when I watch TV, I prefer watching comedy films. But I was scared to launch myself with such a film, as it is an all-or-nothing game with comedy. There is no middle ground, and it has no safety net. Comedy is something I naturally gravitate towards; that is one reason why I made Anbe Diana. Also, the result of Jama too pushed me to make this my second film," he opens up.

Pari, who says he sources stories from individuals and incidents, tells Anbe that Diana is a product of one such observation. He firmly believes that stories are born out of individual idiosyncrasies. "What is simpler and more basic than a love story? But an Anglo-Indian woman and a Telugu man falling in love is the primary driver of drama in Anbe Diana. This is how I can differentiate my film from others," he says, adding that he was also conscious to avoid comparisons between Aadukalam and Anbe Diana. "While Hindu-Christian love stories may naturally make one remember films like Alaigal Oivathillai and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, these films did not occur to me at all while making Anbe Diana. Actually, I was cautious not to have a semblance of Aadukalam. I was so conscious that I planned some scenes near Perambur railway quarters, but felt that even that would force a comparison," he adds, but says he was relieved that Anglo-Indian culture differed in different regions of Tamil Nadu, and implementing that would preserve Anbe Diana's uniqueness by itself. "There is a subculture for Anglo-Indians in Tamil Nadu. Of course, they mostly speak English, but when they speak Tamil, they speak with the dialect peculiar to that region, and their food culture too is region-specific. Also, Aadukalam would have focused more on Taapsee's character alone; in Anbe Diana, the female lead's whole family gets interesting characterisations."  

Speaking of characters, Pari doesn't restrict the term to humans alone. He says even Perambur is playing a very interesting character in the film, and unlike other characters, he required no effort to make it look interesting. "Perambur is culturally very vibrant. Arts and sports thrive in this place; also, Anglo-Indians have contributed greatly to this culture. Five minutes into the film, Perambur will pull you in by itself with no effort from my side," says a confident Pari, who concedes that having characters speak in multiple languages did pose a challenge. Also, with the humour undercurrent, there is a risk of jokes getting lost in translation. "You have English, Telugu, North Chennai Tamil, and Bengaluru Tamil in Anbe Diana. It was indeed daunting to piece it all together. I made a very safe decision of placing jokes in Tamil, which we all understand, and let the characters operate as they are for the rest of the time."

Taking late filmmaker K Bhagyaraj as his inspiration, Pari says creating conflict and drama out of mundane incidents is the biggest gift for Tamil cinema from the veteran's filmography. "No twists in Bhagyaraj sir's films will turn the world upside down. The drama will revolve solely around what a person decides to do about something. How liberating it is for cinema. Also, his heroes need not be dashing; they can wear specs, can be vulnerable, can be gullible, but still be a hero," says a grateful Pari, who shares Anbe Diana and all of his films will carry the sensibilities of Bhagyaraj. He says films will get a lot better if directors approach a screenplay like Bhagyaraj. "Some filmmakers, audience, and critics view films as two halves and not a single story, which is wrong. Bhagyaraj sir designs his screenplays with a seamless flow where an interval is only to give a break to the audience and prepare them for the rest of the coherent story. The midpoint in the three-act structure is for the story; we have remodelled it as an 'interval block'. I have attempted to structure Anbe Diana's screenplay in that fashion."

Calling Anbe Diana a 'Jollyaana Padam,' Pari, before signing off, says the film will be an antidote to stress and bad situations people are in. "I wouldn't call Anbe Diana a romance or a comedy film. It is a proper family film with all of these elements," he says, guaranteeing there will be a lot of portions in the film that will make the audience laugh out loud. "There are at least 10 scenes that will leave you in stitches. 'Parithabangal' Gopi has done a commendable job. In fact, I see Gopi, Sudhakar, and Dravid from the 'Parithabangal' team as an amalgamation of Vadivelu sir and Goundamani sir's physical humour and timing, and Vivek sir's public interest. It is impossible to make Gopi crack a politically incorrect joke. So you could enjoy some clean humour and feel good family moments throughout Anbe Diana," he concludes.