Very rarely do actors get identified as ‘Boy-to-next-door’ and when people ennoble them with this title, they become the favourite of every home. Tamil cinema has witnessed the arrival and success of actors under this classification. Significantly, Actor Rio Raj has found this label tagged to him. Having entertained the universal crowds with comedy entertainers, he is all set to amuse the audiences with a beautiful feel-good romantic entertainer titled JOE, directed by debutant Hariharan Ram, and produced by Dr. D. Arulanandhu of Vision Cinema House. The title teaser of this film unveiled by Pan-Indian icon Dulquer Salmaan has gained a great response.
Actor Rio Raj says, “Joe is an address and identity of our entire team, crafted by our team of friends. We have created this movie with utmost dedication. The film revolves around the love journey of the protagonist named ‘Joe’ that traverses through his school days to the after-marriage phase. For a particular portion of the film, I had to grow long hair and a beard for a different look. So, I couldn’t get involved in any other project or even appear in any events for a couple of years.” Sharing his bond with director Hariharan Ram, actor Rio Raj says, “He was the co-director of my first film, and we share a friendship of four years. As a team, we have given our best, and are extremely happy that our producer congratulated us on the completion of the film’s shooting and served a delicious lunch to our 200-member crew on the wrap-up day. It’s such a great moment to see him elated.”
The entire shoot was completed in just 37 days. Shedding light on this experience, actor Rio Raj says, “It was purely because of the producer’s support. I would like to mention our Executive Producer Veera Sankar sir, who streamlined the shooting process by settling payments daily, which in turn motivated the entire crew to deliver the best output.”
The film has been shot across the exotic locales of Chennai, Rameswaram, Ramnad, Pollachi, Palakkad, and Dindugal. An intriguing fact is shooting a film sequence at Muthalamada Railway Station. ‘JOE’ is the only Tamil movie to be shot at this location many years after Kamal Haasan’s Anbe Sivam.
When asked about the film’s genre and the takeaway for audiences, Rio Raj cites, “Joe will offer audiences an experience of a 100% feel-good love story. The teaser itself will reveal the feel and setting of the movie.”
Siddhu Kumar of Bachelor fame is composing music for this film which has four songs. The others in the technical crew include Rahul KG Vignesh (Cinematography), Varun KG (Editor), ABR (Art Director), Power Pandiyan (Stunt), LM Dhanasehar (Production Controller), Abu & Chals (Cinematography), Vaisagh Vignesh Ramakrishna (Lyrics), Sridevi Gopalakrishnan (Costume Designer), and Suresh Chandra-Rekha D’One (PRO