Director Maria Raja Elanchezian, who recently made his directorial debut with GV Prakash's Happy Raj, was an assistant director to Pradeep Ranganathan and worked on Love Today. The director has now opened up about a political script which was meant to be his first film.
Apart from GV Prakash, Happy Raj also stars Sri Gouri Priya, George Mariyan, Abbas and Geetha Kailasam in prominent roles. The film told the story of a man who, with multiple love failures, falls in love with a woman after having his optimism shaken. However, his past and personal details prove to be a problem for him to continue the relationship.
Speaking to CE in an exclusive conversation, Maria said, “After Love Today, I narrated a script to Pradeep for him to star in. It was an edge-of-the-seat thriller with strong political elements. But he asked me why I was venturing into politics and suspense when comedy was my strongest suit."
Further, he revealed that he was about to make his debut with the political script, if not for Pradeep's advice. "If not for Pradeep’s advice, that political thriller would have been my directorial debut. It was only after he encouraged me to focus on my strengths that I began working on Happy Raj.”
When asked if the film will be his sophomore directorial then, he revealed, "I still have that script, and I believe it’s very good, but I’m unsure if I should do it next. Since Happy Raj is a comedy drama, that project would mark a complete genre shift. After Happy Raj, I’m planning to make another family-orientated film."
Prathana Nathan, Premgi, Ramji, Adhirchi Arun, Madurai Muthu, Mahesh Devi, Kannan Ponnaiya, Aazhiya, Pazhani, and Jeeva Ravi also star in key roles in Happy Raj. The film hit theatres on March 27 and opened to largely positive reviews. It is currently available to stream on Prime Video.
