M. Rajesh

Indian film director

M. Rajesh

M Rajesh at JR 30 Pooja

Born|

Nagercoil

Alma mater| National Engineering College, Kovilpatti
Occupation(s)| Film director, screenwriter
Years active| 2009–present
Spouse| Shakthi

M. Rajesh is an Indian film director and screenwriter, working primarily in the Tamil film industry. Known for making comedy films, he made his directorial debut with Siva Manasula Sakthi in 2009 and followed it up with Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010) and Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012), all three of which emerged very successful at the box office. After this his subsequent films became box-office bombs and he was described by Sify as having lost his "Midas touch".[1] Rajesh has also been heavily criticised for his films glorifying stalking, drinking and degrading women.[2][3]

## Early life[edit]

M. Rajesh was born in Nagercoil.[4] After studying engineering at National Engineering College in Kovilpatti, he worked as an information technology professional in Mumbai for six months before deciding to pursue a career in film.[5]

## Career[edit]

Rajesh worked with the production unit Cosmic Blues, and as an assistant on many short films and advertisement films for one-and-a-half years before shifting to Chennai. He began his feature film career as an assistant director under Ameer in Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002), and later assisted S. A. Chandrasekhar on a few films including Sukran (2005) and Nenjirukkum Varai (2006). After deciding to turn director, Rajesh opted against imitating Ameer or Chandrasekhar's directing styles, but wanted his own style that would appeal to youngsters, and wrote the script of Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009).[5][6] The film became a commercial success, as did his next two directorial ventures, Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010) and Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012). All three films were described by Sify as having reinvented "the trend of light-hearted comedy entertainers without big storylines".[1]

Rajesh later wrote the dialogues for Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013), also a success.[7] However, his subsequent directorial ventures All in All Azhagu Raja (2013), Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga (2015),[1] Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru (2016) and Mr. Local (2019) became box-office bombs.[8][9] By the time of Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga's release, he was described by Sify as having lost his "Midas touch", and that he "should work on something out of the box to taste the much needed success".[1] His next venture, Vanakkam Da Mappilei, premiered on Sun NXT in 2021.[10] In 2022, Rajesh directed "Mirrage", an episode of the anthology thriller series Victim, deviating from his usual comedy films.[11] He also began work on a film tentatively titled JR 30 (as it is the 30th film to star Jayam Ravi).[12]

## Personal life[edit]

Rajesh is married to Shakthi, who he met while working as an assistant under Chandrashekhar.[5] Rajesh's father died on 2 October 2010.[13]

## Filmography[edit]

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|

Year  | Film  | Credited as  | Notes

|
|
|

Director  | Writer
2009 | Siva Manasula Sakthi | Yes | Yes |
2010 | Boss Engira Bhaskaran | Yes | Yes |
2012 | Oru Kal Oru Kannadi | Yes | Yes |
2013 | Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam | No | Yes | Dialogues only
2013 | All in All Azhagu Raja | Yes | Yes |
2015 | Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga | Yes | Yes |
2016 | Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru | Yes | Yes |
2019 | Mr. Local | Yes | Yes |
2021 | Vanakkam Da Mappilei | Yes | Yes |
2022 | Victim | Yes | Yes | Anthology series; episode: "Mirrage"
2023 | JR 30 | Yes | Yes |

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Directors who lost their Midas touch". Sify. slide 6. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
2. ^ Mohan, Ashutosh (16 March 2020). "Even Stars Like Rajinikanth, Vijay And Ajith Can't Escape Stereotyping. Here Are 10 Tamil Cinema Tropes We Can Live Without". Film Companion. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
3. ^ K, Janani (23 May 2019). "Why Sivakarthikeyan and Nayanthara's Mr Local is a mighty problematic film". India Today. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
4. ^ "Rajesh says All in All Azhagu Raja will be a 'different' film". Kollytalk. 3 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
5. ^ a b c Kamath, Sudhish (26 September 2013). "Master of Bromance". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
6. ^ Inian. "BEB Rajesh Interview". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
7. ^ "Rajesh to direct Sivakarthikeyan's next?". The Times of India. 18 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
8. ^ "Sun Pictures to produce Rajesh's next with GV Prakash". Sify. 18 December 2020. Archived from the original on 18 December 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
9. ^ "This Day Last Year: Sivakarthikeyan shared his happiness on the talented Nayanthara getting a bigger role with 'Mr. Local'". The Times of India. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
10. ^ Chandar, Bhuvanesh (16 April 2021). "Vanakkam Da Mappilei Movie Review: Uninspiring and problematic". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
11. ^ "Victim review: Pa.Ranjith's brilliant movie makes Venkat Prabhu, Rajesh, Chimbudevan look like amateurs". The Indian Express. 5 August 2022. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
12. ^ "'JR 30': Jayam Ravi's film with M Rajesh commences with a muhurat puja". The Times of India. 3 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
13. ^ "Director's father passes away". Behindwoods. 2 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2021.

## External links[edit]

* M. Rajesh at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Filmography of M. Rajesh

* Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009)
* Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010)
* Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012)
* All in All Azhagu Raja (2013)
* Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga (2015)
* Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru (2016)
* Mr. Local (2019)
* Vanakkam Da Mappilei (2021)

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