Then, in 2008, Venkat Prabhu released his second film, Saroja, which offered a blend of humour, drama, action, suspense et al and proved to be a hit again.
The main highlight of both Chennai 600028 and Saroja was that rather lesser-known stars featured in lead roles and yet the films went on to becomes big hits.

And now, in 2009, this dynamic young director, who is just over 33, is all set to come out with his third film, Goa, which, industry sources and film-lovers believe, will complete a hat-trick for Venkat Prabhu.
Goa, which once again features a bunch of youngsters in key roles, is produced by Soundarya, the daughter of Rajnikanth, under the banner of Ocher Studios. The film, set against the backdrop of Goa, is of a bigger canvas compared to Venkat Prabhu’s earlier films and is perhaps more eagerly awaited compared to Chennai 600028 (which was not at all a film that was waited for) and Saroja.

Goa is not just a story narrated on celluloid with Goa as the backdrop. It is about relationships, about love, about growing up and above all about the mysteries of life. The film has all the ingredients, including comedy as well as music, in the right proportions and hence it should be a hit, say trade pundits.
Goa, which has story and script by Venkat Prabhu himself, has in lead roles his favourite actors Jai, Premji Amaran, Vaibhav Reddy and Aravind Akash. Pia Bajpai is the heroine while Sneha too does a key role in the film. Also in the cast are Melanie Mary, Sampath Raj, Ajay Raj, Vijayakumar and Anand Raj.

Goa tells the story of a bunch of friends, who grew up together in a little village in Tamil Nadu and who are in Goa for holidaying before joining their new jobs. Life goes all colourful in Goa with so many beautiful girls being around and so many things to add to their merriment. But then, it all takes a totally unexpected turn.

There are even rumours that the film has been inspired by the murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling in Goa some months ago. The real plot and theme would most probably be unravelled only when the movie hits screens. Soundarya Rajnikanth plans to release the film in December, coinciding with her father’s birthday.
Goa features cinematography by Sakthi Saravanan and music by Yuvan Shankar Raja. ‘Kavignar’ Vali and Gangai Amaran are in charge of the lyrics. The film has been shot on locations in Thenni, Goa and also at the Langkawi beach in Malaysia.

On a roll
Though he wanted to be a music director, Venkat Prabhu made his beginnings in cinema as a singer and then took to acting, doing some supporting roles and from there took to directing movies
Venkat Prabhu’s tryst with cinema doesn’t begin with Chennai 600028, his debut directorial venture that went on to become a surprise hit. In fact he hails from a family that has much to do with films. The 33-year-old Venkat Kumar aka Venkat Prabhu, who began as an actor and singer before making it to direction, is the son of Gangai Amaran, noted director-cum-music composer, who is also the younger brother of ‘Isaignani’ Ilayaraja, one of the most loved and revered composers in the country. There are many other members of Venkat’s family who are related to cinema, and that includes his younger brother Premji Amaran (real name Prem G Amaran), who is an actor-cum-singer-cum-music director and who has been part of Venkat’s films, playing lead roles and his famous cousins Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja and Bhavatharani. Venkat, though he wanted to be a music director, made his beginnings in cinema as a singer and then took to acting, doing some supporting roles in films like April Maadhathil, Ji, Sivakasi, Mazhai, etc. it’s from there that he took to directing movies, without even working as an associate to anyone. As a director, he created ripples with his first film, Chennai 600028 and then repeated success with Saroja. And now, Venkat Prabhu, who prefers making films with different themes and with relatively lesser-known artists in the lead, is on to his third film, Goa, which is gearing up for release in December.