Chennai, Mar 8 (IANS): Actor Raj Bharath, who plays one of the leads in forthcoming Tamil romantic-drama "Natpathigaram 79", says the film will stand out for its realistic portrayal of friendship vis-a-vis movies of the same genre.

"Though there have been several stories on friendship, what really differentiates 'Natpathigaram 79' from other films is its treatment. It has a very simple story, which has been presented in a contemporary way," Raj told IANS.

Directed by Ravichandran, the film will hit the screens on Friday.

"In this tale of friendship, there's happiness, fun, pain and so many other things in equal proportion. It focuses on the importance of relationships and how people perceive it nowadays. Unlike other friendship stories, there is even a special focus on the family angle," he said.

The project is very close to Raj's heart as he was involved in it from the scripting stage.

"The director is my uncle and I assisted him on this film for nearly two years. From the scripting phase to post-production, I got hands on knowledge on various crafts," he said.

Popular for playing the quadriplegic villain Thamba, in "Onayum Aatukuttiyum", Raj considers his role in "Natpathigaram 79" as his career's most challenging.

"In the case of 'Onayum Aatukuttiyum', my performance was very dramatic, and it was designed to be that way. However, in this film, I had to be subtle and it wasn't easy, because it was quite contrary to my last role," he said.

The film also stars Amzath, Reshmi Menon and Tejaswi Madivada.

On the sets, says Raj, he bonded like friends with his co-stars.

"There was freedom, which resulted in great camaraderie between the lead actors. The chemistry between us will reflect on the screen and we became better friends through the course of the film," he said.

Next, Raj will be seen playing a character with negative shades in upcoming Tamil film "Sigai". He also awaits the release of Tamil thriller "Andhra Mess", in which he has played the lead.