Japan will entertain and give a new experience to the audience: Raju Murugan

Hero Karthi is ready to entertain the audience with his 25th film, 'Japan'. Directed by Raju Murugan of Joker fame, this pan-India heist thriller is produced by SR Prakash Babu and SR Prabhu under the Dream Warrior Pictures banner. Anu Emmanuel played the heroine. The teaser, trailer, and songs of the film have received tremendous responses. Annapurna Studios is releasing this movie in Telugu states on November 10th.

The director of the film is a journalist-turned-director who is also a national award recipient for his film Joker. Speaking to the media here today, the director confessed that Karthi was the one who motivated him to write the story of Japan. He said, “There were no big heroes in my earlier films. Karthi is a good friend of mine. When I met him, he promised to do a project with me, if I wrote a good story with good humor. He motivated me to do this film. When a film is made with big heroes like Karthi Garu, the message reaches the audience on a massive scale.”

He continued, “Japan is a character-driven film. I wrote the story keeping Karthi sir in mind. Producers Prabhu and Prakash have been good friends for a long time. I did the movie 'Joker' with them. Other than spending a high budget, they have supported a lot in all ways. It is with the cooperation of Karthi and producers Prabhu and Prakash that Japan is coming to the audience in such a grand way. Audiences will definitely enjoy 'Japan'. It will entertain the audience and give a new experience to them.”

Karthi is known to be a non-stereotypical actor who comes up with different films and adapts himself to all the roles he plays naturally. The director continued speaking about Karthi and said, “Karthi Garu shared some ideas and suggestions during the making of the film. This film became so big only with his support. He asks a lot of questions during the shooting of the film. We used to wonder why he was asking so many questions. However, his questions provoke many new ideas in us. Working with Karthi was a wonderful experience.”

Having worked as a journalist and writer and now having a successful career in filmmaking, it was Charlie Chaplin who inspired him to get into movies. Speaking about his journey, he shared, “I have worked as a journalist, writer, and social worker. After watching Charlie Chaplin's films, when a silent film evoked so many thoughts and emotions, I felt that we can connect to people through cinema using today's technology. I entered the film industry with that inspiration. I don’t make films for awards. Audience recognition is important. I consider the awards an added bonus. The love, admiration, and affection of the audience are very important to me. Taking the award for the film 'Joker' with the love and affection of the audience was a great joy.”

The director initially learned filmmaking from Lingusamy. “Lingusamy's films are in the action genre and have a good poetic feel. All his films have commercial ingredients, besides a touch of class. I learned from him how to make a commercial film with a poetic touch,” he said.

Coming back to Japan, the movie has the legendary Ravi Varman on board as its DoP. Sharing his experience working with Ravi Varman, Raju Murugan said, “Ravi Varman sir, is one of the leading cameramen of India. He and Karthi sir are in good sync, as they already did two films together. His contribution to the film is amazing. International standards were required to narrate the story of Japan. We took Ravi Varman for this. He took the quality of the movie to the next level with his work.”

The movie boasts an ensemble cast including Ravikumar, Anu Emmanuel, and Sunil, among many others. The director shares that the actors in the film have been selected based on the script and that all of them have done great justice to the story of Japan.

The music in the film is already a big hit, especially the Touching Touching song. GV Prakash is the man behind this stunning music. Just like the film’s story, the music is very different in the film. “Music by GV Prakash is great. He worked hard for the movie. Even though he was very busy with a tight schedule, he was very cooperative. Similarly, editor Raj, art director Banglan, and all the technical team were very supportive,” he said, further heaping praise on his producers for giving him enough freedom to explore the film even more. “We were given the freedom and a good budget it needed. We haven’t compromised anywhere. We shot the film in a grand manner in many locations, like Thoothukudi, Kashmir, Kerala, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Producer Prabhu Garu told me that he wants to do another film with me, which gave me great joy,” he said.

For the unknown, Raju Murugan has also directed one episode in the web series "Modern Love Chennai". And he is also a song writer; however, he likes to call himself just a writer.

He said, “Lyricist Sri Yuga Bharti is like a brother to me. I stayed in his room in the early days when I came to Chennai for films. He is a great inspiration for me. Director Kumararaja Thyagaraju is the producer of the “Modern Love Chennai” series. He is my good friend. I was asked to direct an episode. As it is a love-based theme, I agreed to direct it. I am ready to direct love stories and love theme movies.”

Lastly, the director shared that he is ready to do all kinds of films, big or small. “I believe that if we make films that we like first, the audience will definitely appreciate them. All my films are made with passion. We believe that Japan will take us to the next level,” he concluded.