Jayaraj

Indian filmmaker

For the name (and list of people with the name), see Jayaraj (name).

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|

Jayaraj

Born|

Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair

(1960-05-31) 31 May 1960 (age 64)

Kottayam, Kerala, India

Occupations|

* Director
* Screenwriter
* Producer

Years active| 1990-present

Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj (born 31 May 1960), is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry.

He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Peacock award at the IFFI, and the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics. He is also a seven-time recipient of the National Film Award and several Kerala State Film Awards. His films include Paithrukam (1993), Desadanam (1996), Kaliyattam (1997), 4 The People (2004), Vellapokkathil (2007), Ottaal (2015), Veeram (2016) and Bhayanakam (2018).

## Early life

[edit]

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 immensely.[2]

## Career

[edit]

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 (1990). 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).[citation needed]

Notable in his early career were Kudumbasametham (1992), Paithrukam (1993) and Sopanam (1993). Desadanam (1997) was followed by 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 (2001). Shantham won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. The third in the Navarasa series was Bheebhatsa, a Hindi film followed by Adbutham and Veeram. In 2018, the sixth film in the series Bhayanakam was released and had won awards for Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the 2017 National Film Awards. On 10 June 2019, Tovino Thomas officially announced and shared the poster of Roudram 2018, the seventh film in the series. While sharing the poster on Facebook Tovino wrote, "The movie is based on real-life incidents that occurred in central Travancore, during the devastating floods that Kerala survived. Roudram 2018 portrays the tempestuous ferocity of nature, and the utter helplessness of humankind before that might."[citation needed]

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. Ottaal made history, becoming the first ever Malayalam movie to have swept all the top awards in the 20-year history of the International Film Festival of Kerala. The film was one of four Malayalam films selected to be a part of the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November 2015.[citation needed]

## Philanthropy

[edit]

In an earnest effort towards conserving nature and strengthening people's welfare, Jayaraj founded the Jayaraj Foundation in 2010 and officially launched it on 6 June 2014. World Organisation of Hope's (WOH) ambitious programme SMART (Sports, Music, Art and Recreation Therapy (Yoga and Meditation)) and Birds Club International are the two projects initiated by the foundation.[citation needed][3]

World Organisation of Hope (WOH) is an organisation aimed at building children's awareness of their rights and to protect them. The programme SMART [Sports, Music, Art and Recreation Therapy (Yoga and Meditation)] is an offshoot of WOH. It supports children and adolescents in their own struggle to secure and defend their dreams.[citation needed]

Birds Club International (BCI) aims at creating miniature rain forests in schools and colleges, to make a better environment both for birds and humans. It plans to bring together the future generation and integrating more of society towards nature conservation activities. Several units of BCI have been started in many schools and colleges in Kerala, with the help of the Government of Kerala, to achieve this.[citation needed]

## Awards

[edit]

International awards
Year  | Film  | Award (s)

|
|

2015  | Ottaal | Crystal Bear, Suvarna Chakoram, FIPRESCI award, NETPAC award, Rajatha Chakoram
2005  | Daivanamathil | Best Film Award in Spain, Madrid International Film Festival
2000  | Karunam | 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.
2001  | Shantham | Best Cinematography in Festival De 3 Continents, France
1996  | Desadanam | Special Mention at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in competition section.

National Film Awards
Jayaraj being felicitated at IFFI (2015)

* 1996 : Best Feature Film in Malayalam \- Desadanam
* 1997 : Best Director \- Kaliyattam
* 2001 : Best Film \- Shantham
* 2005 : Best Film on National Integration \- Daivanamathil
* 2007 : Best Non-Feature Film Direction \- Vellapokkathil (The Deluge)
* 2014 : Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation \- Ottaal
* 2017 : Best Director - Bhayanakam
* 2017 : Best Adapted Screenplay \- Bhayanakam
* 2017 : Special Jury mention - Rebirth

Kerala State Film Awards

* 1992 : Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film \- Kudumbasametham
* 1996 : Kerala State Film Award for Best Director \- Deshadanam
* 1997 : Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value \- Kaliyattam
* 1999 : Kerala State Film Award for Best Film \- Karunam
* 2015 : Kerala State Film Award for Best Film \- Ottaal

Filmfare Awards South

* 1997 : Best Director : Kaliyattam
* 2000 : Best Director : Karunam
* 2000 : Best Film - Malayalam : Karunam

V. Shantharam Awards

* 1997 : Kaliyattam
* 2001 : Shantham

John Abraham Awards

* 2000 : Karunam
* 2012 : Vellapokkathil

Asianet Film Awards

* 2002: Asianet Film Award for Best Director for Kannaki

Ramu Karyatt Awards

* 1996 : Desadanam

P. Padmarajan Awards

* 1996 : Desadanam
* 2000 : Karunam

## Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Notes  | Ref(s)

|
|
|

1990 | Vidhyarambham |  |
1991 | Aakasha Kottayile Sultan | Story credits |
1992 | Johnnie Walker |  |
1992 | Kudumbasametham |  |
1993 | Paithrukam |  |
1993 | Sopanam |  |
1995 | Arabia |  |
1995 | High Way |  |
1995 | Thumboli Kadappuram |  |
1997 | Desadanam | Also Producer |
1997 | Kaliyattam |  |
1998 | Sneham |  |
1998 | Thalolam |  |
2000 | Karunam | Part 2, Navarasa series. Also producer |
2000 | Millennium Stars |  |
2000 | Shantham | Part 1, Navarasa series |
2002 | Bhibatsa | Part 3, Navarasa series Hindi Language | [4]
2002 | Kannaki |  |
2003 | Thilakkam |  |
2004 | 4 the People |  |
2004 | Rain Rain Come Again |  |
2004 | Yuvasena (Telugu) |  |
2005 | By the People |  |
2005 | Daivanamathil |  |
2005 | Makalkku |  |
2006 | Adbutham | Part 4, Navarasa series Released on Rootsvideo OTT Platform in 2021 April 14 |
2006 | Aanachandam |  |
2006 | Ashwaroodan |  |
2007 | Anandabhairavi |  |
2008 | Gulmohar |  |
2008 | Of The People | Writer and producer credits |
2008 | Sila Nerangalil | Tamil film |
2008 | Vellapokkathil |  | [5]
2009 | Loudspeaker | Writer and producer credits |
2011 | Naayika |  | [6]
2012 | Pakarnnattam |  | [7]
2013 | Camel Safari |  | [8]
2015 | Ottaal |  | [9]
2016 | Veeram | Part 5, Navarasa series. Also writer. Released also in Hindi & English |
2017 | Bhayanakam | Part 6, Navarasa series. Also writer |
2019 | Roudram 2018 | Part 7, Navarasa series. Also writer |
2020 | Haasyam | Part 8, Navarasa series. |
2021 | Backpackers |  |
2023 | Oru Perumgaliyattam | Shooting Started (Releasing on Rootsvideo OTT Platform) |
2023 | Kadhikan | Story and producer credits |
2024  | Manorathangal | Anthology series Segment:"Swargam Thurakkuna Samayam" |
Highway -2 † | Announced |

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "cinemaofmalayalam.net: Profile". Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
2. ^ "Jayaraj: A director's profile". Rediff.com movies. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
3. ^ "Birds Club International".
4. ^ "Bibhatsa". The Times of India. 16 September 2004. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
5. ^ Staff Reporter (3 December 2018). "Films on hope and rebuilding". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
6. ^ "Another new film on Shrividhya". The Indian Express. 21 January 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
7. ^ P.K.Ajith Kumar (14 January 2011). "Lambs to the sacrifice". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012.
8. ^ "Love in the sands of Pushkar". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 September 2013.
9. ^ "'Ottal' is more than an environmental film: Jayaraj". Manorama Online.

## External links

[edit]

* Jayaraj at IMDb
* All in the name of God The Hindu \- 5 July 2005

* v
* t
* e

National Film Award for Best Direction

1967–1980|

* Satyajit Ray (1967)
* Satyajit Ray (1968)
* Mrinal Sen (1969)
* Satyajit Ray (1970)
* Girish Karnad and B. V. Karanth (1971)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1972)
* Mani Kaul (1973)
* Satyajit Ray (1974)
* Satyajit Ray (1975)
* P. Lankesh (1976)
* G. Aravindan (1977)
* G. Aravindan (1978)
* Mrinal Sen (1979)
* Mrinal Sen (1980)

1981–2000|

* Aparna Sen (1981)
* Utpalendu Chakrabarty (1982)
* Mrinal Sen (1983)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1984)
* Shyam Benegal (1985)
* G. Aravindan (1986)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1987)
* Shaji N. Karun (1988)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1989)
* Tapan Sinha (1990)
* Satyajit Ray (1991)
* Goutam Ghose (1992)
* T. V. Chandran (1993)
* Jahnu Barua (1994)
* Saeed Akhtar Mirza (1995)
* Agathiyan (1996)
* Jayaraj (1997)
* Rajeevnath (1998)
* Buddhadeb Dasgupta (1999)
* Rituparno Ghosh (2000)

2001–2020|

* B. Lenin (2001)
* Aparna Sen (2002)
* Goutam Ghose (2003)
* Buddhadeb Dasgupta (2004)
* Rahul Dholakia (2005)
* Madhur Bhandarkar (2006)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (2007)
* Bala (2008)
* Rituparno Ghosh (2009)
* Vetrimaaran (2010)
* Gurvinder Singh (2011)
* Shivaji Lotan Patil (2012)
* Hansal Mehta (2013)
* Srijit Mukherji (2014)
* Sanjay Leela Bhansali (2015)
* Rajesh Mapuskar (2016)
* Jayaraj (2017)
* Aditya Dhar (2018)
* Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan (2019)
* Sachy (2020)

2021–present|

* Nikhil Mahajan (2021)
* Sooraj Barjatya (2022)

* v
* t
* e

National Film Award for Best Screenplay

1967–1980|

* S. L. Puram Sadanandan (1967)
* Pandit Anand Kumar (1968)
* Puttanna Kanagal (1969)
* Satyajit Ray (1970)
* Tapan Sinha (1971)
* Gulzar (1972)
* Mrinal Sen and Ashish Burman (1973)
* Satyajit Ray (1974)
* No Award (1975)
* Vijay Tendulkar (1976)
* Satyadev Dubey, Shyam Benegal, Girish Karnad (1977)
* T. S. Ranga and T. S. Nagabharana (1978)
* Sai Paranjpye (1979)
* Mrinal Sen (1980)

1981–2000|

* K. Balachander (1981)
* Mrinal Sen (1982)
* G. V. Iyer (1983)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1984)
* Bhabendra Nath Saikia (1985)
* Budhdhadeb Dasgupta (1986)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1987)
* Arundhati Roy (1988)
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1989)
* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1990)
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1991)
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1992)
* Satyajit Ray (1993)
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1994)
* Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Ashok Mishra (1995)
* Agathiyan (1996)
* Rituparno Ghosh (1997)
* Ashok Mishra (1998)
* Madampu Kunjukuttan (1999)
* Bharathiraja (2000)

2001–2020|

* Neelakanta (2001)
* Aparna Sen (2002)
* Goutam Ghose (2003)
* Manoj Tyagi and Nina Arora (2004)
* Prakash Jha, Manoj Tyagi and Shridhar Raghavan (2005)
* Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra (2006)
* Feroz Abbas Khan (2007)
* Sachin Kundalkar (2008)

Original|

* P. F. Mathews and Harikrishna (2009)
* Vetrimaaran (2010)
* Nitesh Tiwari, Vikas Bahl, and Vijay Maurya (2011)
* Sujoy Ghosh (2012)
* P. Sheshadri (2013)
* Srijit Mukherji (2014)
* Juhi Chaturvedi and Himanshu Sharma (2015)
* Syam Pushkaran (2016)
* Sajeev Pazhoor (2017)
* Rahul Ravindran (2018)
* Kaushik Ganguly (2019)
* Sudha Kongara and Shalini Usha Nair (2020)

Adapted|

* Gopal Krishan Pai and Girish Kasaravalli (2009)
* Anant Mahadevan and Sanjay Pawar (2010)
* Avinash Deshpande Nigdi (2011)
* Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukla (2012)
* Panchakshari (2013)
* Joshy Mangalath (2014)
* Vishal Bhardwaj (2015)
* Sanjay Krishnaji Patil (2016)
* Jayaraj (2017)
* Sriram Raghavan , Arijit Biswas, Yogesh Chandekar, Hemanth M. Rao and Pooja Ladha Surti (2018)
* Srijit Mukherji (2019)
* – (2020)

Dialogue|

* Pandiraj (2009)
* Sanjay Pawar (2010)
* Girish Kulkarni (2011)
* Anjali Menon (2012)
* Sumitra Bhave (2013)
* Vishal Bhardwaj (2014)
* Juhi Chaturvedi and Himanshu Sharma (2015)
* Tharun Bhascker (2016)
* Sambit Mohanty (2017)
* Churni Ganguly (2018)
* Srijit Mukherji (2019)
* Madonne Ashwin (2020)

2021–present|

| Original|

* Shahi Kabir (2021)
* Anand Ekarshi (2022)

|

Adapted|

* Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Utkarshini Vashishtha (2021)
* – (2022)

Dialogue|

* Utkarshini Vashishtha and Prakash Kapadia (2021)
* Arpita Mukherjee and Rahul V. Chittella (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Filmfare Award for Best Malayalam Director

1972–1990|

* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1972)
* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1973)
* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1974)
* Bharathan (1975)
* Sreekumaran Thampi (1976)
* I. V. Sasi (1977)
* I. V. Sasi (1978)
* Bharathan (1979)
* Bharathan (1980)
* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1981)
* Balu Mahendra (1982)
* Balachandra Menon (1983)
* Bharathan (1984)
* Balu Mahendra (1985)
* Hariharan (1986)
* Pratap Pothen (1987)
* Padmarajan (1988)
* (1989)
* Bhadran (1990)

1991–2010|

* Sibi Malayil (1991)
* Sibi Malayil (1992)
* Shaji Kailas (1993)
* Hariharan (1994)
* Bhadran (1995)
* Sathyan Anthikad (1996)
* Jayaraj (1997)
* Sreenivasan (1998)
* Shyamaprasad (1999)
* Jayaraj (2000)
* Vinayan (2001)
* Lal Jose (2002)
* Sathyan Anthikad (2003)
* Blessy (2004)
* Blessy (2005)
* Rosshan Andrrews (2006)
* Babu Thiruvalla (2007)
* Ranjith (2008)
* Hariharan (2009)
* Ranjith (2010)

2011–present|

* Blessy (2011)
* Lal Jose (2012)
* Shyamaprasad (2013)
* Anjali Menon (2014)
* R. S. Vimal (2015)
* Dileesh Pothan (2016)
* Dileesh Pothan (2017)
* Lijo Jose Pellissery (2018)
* Senna Hegde (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Kerala State Film Award for Best Director

1969–1980|

* A. Vincent (1969)
* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1970-1972)
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair (1973)
* G. Aravindan (1974)
* P. A. Backer (1975)
* T. Rajeevnath (1976)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1977)
* G. Aravindan (1978-1979)
* K. S. Sethumadhavan (1980)

1981–2000|

* G. Aravindan (1981)
* Bharathan (1982)
* Fazil (1983)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1984)
* G. Aravindan (1985-1986)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1987)
* K. P. Kumaran (1988)
* I. V. Sasi (1989)
* G. Aravindan (1990)
* Kamal (1991)
* Hariharan (1992)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1993)
* Shaji N. Karun (1994)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1995)
* Jayaraj (1996)
* T. V. Chandran (1997)
* Shyamaprasad (1998)
* Shaji N. Karun (1999)
* M. T. Vasudevan Nair (2000)

2001–2020|

* T. V. Chandran (2001)
* Sibi Malayil (2003)
* Shyamaprasad (2004)
* Blessy (2005)
* Lenin Rajendran (2006)
* M. G. Sasi (2007)
* Adoor Gopalakrishnan (2008)
* Hariharan (2009)
* Shyamaprasad (2010)
* Blessy (2011)
* Lal Jose (2012)
* Shyamaprasad (2013)
* Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (2014)
* Martin Prakkat (2015)
* Vidhu Vincent (2016)
* Lijo Jose Pellissery (2017)
* Shyamaprasad (2018)
* Lijo Jose Pellissery (2019)
* Sidhartha Siva (2020)

2021–present|

* Dileesh Pothan (2021)
* Mahesh Narayanan (2022)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States

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