27 Facts About Mohan Raja

Mohan Raja is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu film industries.

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.

Mohan Raja made his directorial debut through the Telugu action comedy film, Hanuman Junction, a remake of the Malayalam film Thenkasipattanam.

Mohan Raja won positive reviews for his work, with Jeevi of Idlebrain.

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

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

Mohan 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.

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

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

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 Mohan Raja related the storyline back to his personal life.

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

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

In late 2009, Mohan Raja agreed terms to work with actor Vijay, and spent ten months writing a script based on a story written by director Thirupathisamy in the early 2000s.

Mohan Raja subsequently bought the remake rights and re-worked the script of Azad to suit Tamil audiences and signed on Genelia D'Souza and Hansika Motwani to play other lead roles.

In early 2012, Mohan Raja began pre-production on remaking the Tamil film Ramanaa into Hindi with Akshay Kumar and Tamannaah in the lead roles.

Mohan Raja later opted out of the film after it went through delays and was not involved in the subsequent remake titled Gabbar Is Back.

Mohan Raja shot for the film for six days in Chennai but has not acted in any further venture, after the film had a low-key opening at the box office.

Mohan Raja worked on the script of Thani Oruvan for nine months, and revealed that it was based on an original idea about "a man who goes all out to hunt evil in society".

Mohan Raja added that in "formulaic Tamil films", the protagonist would require a flashback to show a reason to fight evil or that the "hero would wait for the villain to make the first move", but noted that Thani Oruvan would eschew those typical notions seen in Tamil films.

Mohan Raja considered several actors for the lead role but finally chose Jayam Ravi again as he wanted an actor "who would trust him blindly" because he had wanted the film to be a "career-changing film".

Mohan Raja called the film "experimental" and "close to his heart", revealing the efforts he put into the pre-production of the project.

Mohan Raja then directed another film, titled Velaikkaran starring Sivakarthikeyan, Nayanthara and Fahadh Faasil in the lead roles.

Mohan Raja returned to remakes with the Telugu remake of the Malayalam film Lucifer titled Godfather which was released on 5 October 2022.

Mohan Raja initially worked on official Tamil remakes of Telugu films, leading to the media nicknaming him "Remake Mohan Raja".

Mohan Raja has noted his displeasure at being referred to as "Xerox Raja" by the media, and that the constant criticism led him to make his first original script, Thani Oruvan.

Mohan Raja has often attempted to make films for family entertainment, and revealed that progressively since Jayam, he has attempted to reduce scenes of glamour and vulgarity.

Mohan Raja has stated his intentions of appealing to all sectors of the audience and has revealed that films such as Samsaram Adhu Minsaram and Kadhalukku Mariyadhai are amongst the types of films that he aspires to make.