Pyaar Prema Kadhal director Elan, leads Harish Kalyan and Raiza Wilson discuss their film

Two Tamil films have hit the screens today, of which Kamal Haasan' s long-delayed spy thriller  Vishwaroopam 2  has been eagerly anticipated by his fans with bated breath. Another film, which has gained tremendous traction on social media platforms, is the youthful rom-com Pyaar Prema Kadhal, which stars ex-Bigg Boss Tamil contestants Harish Kalyan and Raiza Wilson in the lead roles. [caption id=“attachment_4934591” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Harish Kalyan and Raiza Wilson in a still from Pyaar Prema Kadhal. YouTube[/caption] Pyaar Prema Kadhal also marks the production debut of composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, who has also scored the music for the project and has delivered a chartbuster soundtrack. In this exclusive conversation with Firstpost, Harish, Raiza and director Elan talk about the film, multitasking and how Bigg Boss helped them gain immense fame. Talking about his early stint in the film world, director Elan said, “I have been making short films since I finished my schooling in 2007. It’s been almost 11 years, and my every short film attempt is to make it to the big screen. I completed the script work of a love story and started to work on the next script without approaching any producers. It was a great coincidence when Irfan, a friend of Yuvan sir, asked me if I have any scripts for a romance film. Yuvan sir, along with other producers, sat for narration and halfway through the narration, they started to discuss the cast for the film. I was overwhelmed by their gesture.” Raiza said she attended the audition for the film before she came on board. “I’m super excited and overwhelmed to be in this project. I think my good karma landed me in Yuvan sir’s film. I came for the audition from Bangalore. Post the audition, the team narrated me the story. Then I flew back to Bangalore. After a few days, I got the call to join the Pyaar Prema Kadhal crew,” beams Raiza, as she tells us about how she landed the role. Harish Kalyan sounded upbeat about the film as he spilled the beans about the premise. “Pyaar Prema Kadhal is a love story where a happy-go-lucky Sree and an ambitious Sindhuja fall for each other. With a quirky screenplay, Elan has pulled off an entertaining love story. Youngsters will surely connect with my character Sree; every gang of friends will have a person with his antics, innocence with a slightly animated trait. Raiza was very apt for the role and she complimented my character beautifully,” he said. Elan said the entire team underwent an acting workshop, which helped them complete the project on time. “We went for a month-long script reading session, rehearsals and acting workshop by Kumar Raja. He gave great insights about acting. So it was pretty easy for us on the sets, especially Raiza because it’s her debut film, and we okayed most of the shots in the first take itself. Utmost, we have gone for two or three takes, not more than that,” said Elan. Raiza Wilson, who is not naive to the camera and has acted in a bevy of commercials, talked about the experience of playing a lead heroine for the first time in a feature film. “I play a modern, outgoing and a bossy girl in the film. Though modeling was my career before, performing in a film is a whole new challenge. Lots of preparation went in before I started shooting for the film. Juggling between acting class, dancing class and voice modulation class paid off during the shoot; it gave me the confidence to go for it.” She further added, “Elan and Harish used to make fun of me a lot, and those are the only breathing times. Otherwise, we shot from morning through the evening. Thanks to Bigg Boss, I managed with my Tamil here.” Asked if she is watching Bigg Boss Tamil season 2, Raiza said, “Yes, I’m regularly watching. I don’t feel that the contestants are behaving in a fake manner. It’s just that they seem well-prepared about the challenges the show might bring (to) them. It’s a human tendency to prepare in advance for anything in life. That’s what they are doing. I wouldn’t say it’s wrong to do so.” Harish Kalyan noted Yuvan always believed in the film’s lead pair. “Yuvan felt this pair will click. With the leverage he has in Kollywood, Yuvan sir could have done this film with any accomplished hero or director, but he wanted to bring in young talents.” Gushing about Yuvan’s score in the film, Harish said, “To all those who missed Yuvan Shankar Raja sir’s love songs for quite some time, Pyaar Prema Kadhal songs and the background score will be a feast. To have Yuvan sir compose music for my film is a total delight.” On a concluding note, Harish explained how Bigg Boss revived his career in the industry. “I have done a few films, and then there were empty days without any projects. Bigg Boss was a great platform. It gave me a wider reach. All through my tough times, what remained unchanged is the effort I invest in; I never compromised in my efforts,” concluded Harish.