Jayaraj

Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair
Born Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair
(1960-08-04) 4 August 1960
Kottayam, Kerala, India
Occupation Director, screenwriter, producer
Years active 1990–present
Spouse(s) Sabitha Jayaraj
Children 2

Jayaraj Rajasekharan, often credited as Jayaraj, is an Indian Malayali filmmaker known for directing mainstream as well as art house films. His notable film include, Vidyarambham (1990), Johnnie Walker (1992), Kudumbasametham (1992), Paithrukam (1993), Highway (1995), Desadanam (1996), Kaliyattam (1997), Karunam (2000), Shantham (2000), Kannaki (2002), 4 the People (2004), Daivanamathil (2005), Makalkku (2005), Adbhutam (2006), Gulmohar (2008), Loudspeaker (2009), Pakarnnattam (2012) and Ottaal (2015) and Veeram (2017).

Biography

Jayaraj was born on 4 August 1960 to a middle-class family in Kottayam, Kerala, India. His father was N. Rajasekharan Nair and mother, Savithri R. Nair. He completed his Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and Communication. During his stay at Thiruvananthapuram, he attended film festivals including the International Film Festival of Kerala and watched many world classics.[1] Kurosawa's Rashomon and DeSica's Bicycle Thieves were among them, and they influenced him immensesly.[2] After his studies in Thiruvananthapuram, he met noted director Bharathan who was a neighbor of his sister in Madras, Tamil Nadu. Bharathan was impressed by Jayaraj and made him his assistant director for Chilambu(1986). Jayaraj then went on to be the assistant to Bharathan in six more films including the critically acclaimed Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam (1987) and Vaishali (1988). Jayaraj debuted as director with Vidyarambham (1988). His early career mainly produced commercially oriented films like Aakasha Kottayile Sultan (1991), Johnnie Walker (1992), High Way (1995), Thumboli Kadappuram (1995) and Arabia (1995).

Notable in his early career were Kudumbasametham (1992), Paithrukam (1993) and Sopanam (1993). Paithrukam was critically acclaimed but was subject to criticism for its conservative, religious philosophy. Desadanam (1997) was a milestone in his career. With the film, he was considered a serious film-maker by the critics. It was followed by another critically acclaimed film, Kaliyattam (1997) which was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. It won him the National Film Award for Best Direction.

In 1999 Jayaraj started his nine-film series project Navarasa with Karunam, followed by Shantham(2000). Shantham won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. The third in the Navarasa series was Bheebhatsa, a Hindi film. A fourth film in the series, Adbutham, is planned and Jayaraj has set his aim to complete the shooting in less than 2 hours 14 minutes with single camera at a time.[3] He reportedly said in an interview to Rediff.com when inquired about the shooting time "In less than ten hours. It may end in five or even two hours. You never know."[4]

Of late he has been doing commercial and art films and is successful in both genres. While Thilakkam (2003) and 4 The People (2004) were huge commercial successes Kannaki (2002), Makalkku (2005), Daivanamathil (2005) and Ottaal (2015) were critically acclaimed. A sequel to 4 the People came in 2005: By the People which was a flop.[5] Despite that, Jayaraj continued the sequel the trilogy titled Of The People, as of December 2007.[6]

Jayaraj's wife Sabitha Jayaraj is a state award-winning costume designer and an actress.

Awards

International awards
Film Year Award (s)
Daivanamathil 2005 Best Film Award in Spain, Madrid International Film Festival
Karunam 2000 Golden Peacock Award, International Film Festival of India- Awards from Federation of International Film Societies, Berlin International Film Fest, Special Mention in Kerala International Film Festival.
Shantham 2000 Best Cinematography in Festival De 3 Continents, France
Desadanam 1996 Special Mention at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in competition section.
National Film Awards
Kerala State Film Awards
Filmfare Awards South
V. Shantharam Awards
John Abraham Awards
Ramu Karyatt Awards
P. Padmarajan Awards

Filmography

Title Year Language Notes Ref(s)
Veeram 2016 Malayalam
Hindi
English		 Part 5, Navarasa series. Also writer
Ottaal 2015 Malayalam [7]
Camel Safari 2013 [8]
Pakarnnattam 2012 [9]
Naayika 2011 [10]
The Train 2011 Writer credits [11]
Loudspeaker 2009 Writer and producer credits
Gulmohar 2008
Vellapokkathil 2008
Of The People 2008 Writer and producer credits
Sila Nerangalil 2008 Tamil
Anandabhairavi 2007 Malayalam
Aanachandam 2006
Adbhutam 2006 Part 4, Navarasa series
Aswaroodan 2006
Daivanamathil 2005
By the People 2005
Makalkku 2005
Yuva Sena 2005 Telugu
Rain Rain Come Again 2004 Malayalam
4 the People 2004
Thilakkam 2003
Kannaki 2002
Bhibatsa 2002 Hindi Part 3, Navarasa series
Millennium Stars 2000 Malayalam
Karunam 2000 Part 2, Navarasa series. Also producer
Shantham 2000 Part 1, Navarasa series
Sneham 1998
Thalolam 1998
Kaliyattam 1997
Desadanam 1997 Producer credits
Arabia 1995
High Way 1995
Thumboli Kadappuram 1995
Paithrukam 1993
Sopanam 1993
Johnnie Walker 1992
Kudumbasametham 1992
Aakasha Kottayile Sultan 1991 Story credits
Vidyarambham 1990

References

  1. ↑ cinemaofmalayalam.net: Profile
  2. ↑ "Jayaraj: A director's profile". Rediff.com movies. December 20, 2005. Retrieved 2014-08-14.
  3. ↑ [Limca book of world record]
  4. ↑ Rediff.com: Interview
  5. ↑ The Hindu: Jayaraj comes with `By the People' now
  6. ↑ Sify.com: Jayaraj & People are back!
  7. ↑ "'Ottal' is more than an environmental film: Jayaraj". Manorama Online.
  8. ↑ "Love in the sands of Pushkar". The New Indian Express.
  9. ↑ P.K.Ajith Kumar (14 January 2011). "Lambs to the sacrifice". The Hindu.
  10. ↑ "Another new film on Shrividhya". The Indian Express. 21 January 2011.
  11. ↑ "Jayaraj ropes in Mammootty for Track With Rahman". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
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