Happy Raj

Kathamuthu is a miserly schoolteacher, and the combination of the two has made Happy something of a local joke. The body shaming that begins with Kathamuthu's nickname doesn't stay with him, it carries across to Happy and stretches across generations, revisited so often that what starts as a running gag turns into something oddly mean-spirited. When Happy lands a job at an IT company in Bangalore and meets Kavya, the film finds its groove. Kavya actually likes him, but her condition is that his family formally approach hers. Her father Rajiv is an NRI, and when he collides with Kathamuthu, the culture clash between the city-bred father and the village traditionalist becomes the film's engine. == Cast ==

The film is written and directed by Maria Raja Elanchezian, who previously worked as an assistant director to Pradeep Ranganathan in Love Today (2022), and marks the comeback of Abbas to films. Filming ended in January 2026. == Music ==

The music was composed by Justin Prabhakaran in his second collaboration with G.V.Prakash Kumar after the 2023 film Adiyae. The first single "Aadiney Irupen" was released on 17 February 2026. The second single "Thuru Thuru" was released on 10 March 2026. The song marked Gangai Amaran's first playback vocal in 9 years. In addition to the original soundtrack, the songs "Malai Mala", composed by Deva for the 2001 film Chocklet and "Podhuvaga En Manasu Thangam", composed by Ilaiyaraaja for the 1980 film Murattu Kaalai are featured in the film. == Release ==

Theatrical Happy Raj was released in theatres on 27 March 2026, by Five Star Creations in Tamil Nadu. Home media The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 24 April 2026. == Reception ==

Critical response Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave 3/5 stars and wrote, "Forced sentimentality and the all-too-familiar romanticization of tradition keep pulling the film back. Too many scenes feel manufactured, and you are constantly hand-held through the emotive parts". A critic from Dina Thanthi gave the film a positive review, praising the cast performances, cinematography and music but criticised the screenplay in the film's first half. Yuvashree from Zee News wrote that the second half of the film is far better than the first half. Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote, "Happy Raj is a misstep in every choice of writing it takes. With bland conflict, messy assumptions and incorrect ideology, the film attempts to just work on foolish concepts, making it a messy affair". Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu said the film "vexingly attempts to sell a performative redemption arc, but no amount of emotional coercion can hide its moral bankruptcy". == References ==