Mohan Raja

Mohan Raja (born 30 May 1974) is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu film industries.

After making his debut in the Telugu film Hanuman Junction (2001), he went on to remake several successful Telugu films into Tamil, beginning with Jayam (2003) which also launched his brother Ravi as a leading actor.

He made his directorial debut through the Telugu action comedy film, Hanuman Junction (2001), a remake of the Malayalam film Thenkasipattanam (2000).

Featuring an ensemble cast led by Arjun and Jagapati Babu.

Raja won positive reviews for his work, with Jeevi of Idlebrain.com stating "credit goes to Raja for narrating the story in such a way that all the viewers understand the complex and randomly changing relationships clearly" and that "the film looks solid in most of the scenes", while adding that Raja knows "the mass pulse".

Raja then moved on to make his first Tamil film, Jayam (2003), which was a remake of the successful 2002 Telugu film of the same name.

A romantic thriller set in a village, the film was produced by Raja's father Mohan and starred his younger brother, Ravi, in the lead role alongside Sadha, who had featured in the original version.

Jayam opened to mixed reviews, with a critic from The Hindu stating the film gave a sense of "déjà vu" but added that Raja's "treatment is interesting in patches".

The film went on to become a surprise success at the box office, and prompted both Raja and Ravi to adopt "Jayam" to their stage names as a prefix, while their home production studio was renamed Jayam Company.

Raja then collaborated with Ravi for three consecutive commercially successful films, M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi (2004), Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum (2006) and Santosh Subramaniam (2008), all of which were remakes of successful Telugu films.

Raja then worked with his father and brother on the production of M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi (2004), a remake of the Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2003).

Nadhiya made a comeback to Tamil films by portraying Ravi's mother.

The film opened in October 2004 to positive reviews, with Behindwoods.com stating "Raja has done well for his second film" and "he has well defined the relationship between a mother and a son in this movie", while The Hindu wrote that "casting is a main draw", praising the inclusion of Nadhiya.

Rediff.com also listed the film amongst the "best Tamil films of 2004", stating that the film was "a big success".

Like Jayam, M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi went on to become another highly profitable venture at the box office for the production house.

Following the success of the film, Jayam Ravi signed on for films directed by different film makers, while Raja also stated he was looking to work for other production houses.

Raja did not sign on to make any further films, while Ravi experienced two consecutive box office failures after the success of their last collaboration.

(2005). A family drama focusing on the relationship between a brother and a sister, the film told the story of how a city-bred youngster attempts to please his lover's brother.

Subsequently, the duo came together for another home production titled Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum (2006), which would be a remake of Prabhu Deva's successful Telugu film, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana.

The film opened to positive reviews in July 2006, with Behindwoods.com noting Raja "should be applauded for hand picking a cast that makes the movie worth watching", while remarking that "it has everything that can well set the box office collections soaring".

Likewise Sify added the film was "like a saccharine coated candy floss champion that is superbly packaged" and The Hindu stated "Raja has a way of making remakes successful".

The venture went on to become profitable, and scored the third straight success for the actor-director duo.

He was then signed on by Gemini Film Circuit to remake Rajkumar Hirani's Hindi film Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) into Tamil, but the project failed to materialise.

Raja next began work on the family drama film Santosh Subramaniam (2008), a remake of the Telugu film Bommarillu (2006), after outbidding several other interested parties for the remake rights.

The film's original version was made by Raja's friend, Bhaskar, who also stated that Raja would be the most apt director to remake the film into the Tamil language.

Ravi and Prakash Raj were chosen again to play lead roles, while Genelia D'Souza was selected as the film's heroine, after winning acclaim for her portrayal of the role in the original version.

The film revolved around a father and son relationship; where the son's choices and his ambitions to achieve something in life are subdued by his father, and Raja related the storyline back to his personal life.

Santosh Subramaniam opened to positive reviews from critics, with Raja winning critical acclaim for his work.

A critic from Sify.com noted "Raja, a past master at remakes, is once again a winner" and that the film "has simple charm, immensely likeable characters, and the intrinsic humour in the writing makes it a must watch".

Similarly, a critic from The Hindu noted "for the fourth time in succession film-maker Raja shows he can re-make a film to suit the audiences here", stating the script was "aptly re-tuned to suit the Tamil milieu".

The film also went on to be ranked amongst the Best Tamil films of the year by the Tamil Nadu State, while it also garnered four Filmfare Award nominations, including one for Best Film.

Moreover, it became a very profitable venture for the makers, running for over 100 days in theatres across Tamil Nadu.

After five consecutive successful films, Raja chose to remake the Telugu comedy film, Kick (2009) into Tamil as Thillalangadi (2010), with Ravi in the lead role.

The remake rights were purchased for "astronomical sum", a month after the Telugu film's release by Raja's father, Mohan, who was set to produce the film.

The film began production in mid-2009 and was shot extensively across Malaysia, with Tamannaah and Shaam signed on to play supporting roles.

The film opening to mixed and negative reviews, unlike the original version, whilst Sify.com rated the film as "below average" film and added that it was "boring".

The producers, AGS Entertainment, subsequently requested Raja to make another film with Ravi after Santosh Subramaniam's success, but Raja gave Ravi's dates to director Prabhu Deva to film Engeyum Kaadhal (2011).

After a period of mixed success, he returned with his first original script, Thani Oruvan (2015) which went on to become one of the most profitable Tamil films of 2015.

As a result of his father senior Editor Mohan's involvement in the film industry, Raja regularly visited Vauhini Studios as a teenager to watch his father work as a film editor.

Likewise, Raja's role as the president of the Dubbing Film Producers Association meant that Raja was exposed to world cinema, before he attended the Film Institute to complete his education.