Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj, is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in

Malayalam film industry Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, '' Elippathayam ...

. He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

, the Golden Peacock award at the

IFFI The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pl ...

, and the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics. He is also a seven-time recipient of the

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

and several Kerala State Film Awards. His films include ''

Paithrukam Paithrukam is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language drama film, directed by Jayaraaj, starring Suresh Gopi, Narendra Prasad and Jayaram. Scripted by Kaloor Dennis, this film revolves around a traditional Brahmin family and the fight between their bel ...

'' (1993), ''

Desadanam ''Desadanam'' ( en, Journey to wisdom) is a 1996 Indian Malayalam language feature film directed by Jayaraj. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam. Plot The plot revolves around the personal turmoil faced by the par ...

'' (1996), ''

4 The People ''4 the People'' is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language vigilante thriller film directed by Jayaraj and written by Iqbal Kuttippuram from a story by Jayaraj. It stars Arun Cherukavil, Bharath, Arjun Bose, and Padma Kumar in the title roles, alon ...

'' (2004), ''Vellapokkathil'' (2007), ''

Ottaal '' Ottaal'' (English: ''The Trap'') is a 2015 Indian Malayalam film directed by Jayaraj, an adaptation of the short story "Vanka" by Russian author Anton Chekhov. This film stars Ashanth K Sha and Kumarakom Vasudevan, as well as actors Shine ...

'' (2015), and ''

Bhayanakam ''Bhayanakam'' (English: ''Fearsome'') is a 2018 Indian Malayalam–language period drama war film directed by Jayaraj, produced by Sureshkumar Muttath, and stars writer-turned-actor Renji Panicker and Asha Sarath. The film is an adaptation o ...

'' (2018). He is the founder of the Birds Club International and is actively involved in philanthropic work.

Early life

During his stay at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, he attended film festivals including the

International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...

and watched many world classics. Kurosawa's ''

Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura ...

'' and DeSica's ''

Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' ( it, Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the United States as ''The Bicycle Thief'') is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post- World ...

'' were among them, and they influenced him immensely.

Career

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 ''Oru Minnaminunginte Nurunguvettam'' () is a 1987 Malayalam-language drama film directed by Bharathan, written by John Paul and produced by M. G. Gopinath and Babu Thiruvalla. The film stars Nedumudi Venu, Sharada and Parvathy in lead roles ...

'' (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). Notable in his early career were ''Kudumbasametham'' (1992), ''

'' (1993) and ''Sopanam'' (1993). ''

'' (1997) was followed by ''

Kaliyattam ''Kaliyattam'' ( en, The Play of God) is a 1997 Indian Malayalam-language tragedy film directed by Jayaraaj. It stars Suresh Gopi, Lal (in his acting debut), Manju Warrier, and Biju Menon. The film is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play ...

'' (1997) which was an adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' Othello''. It won him the

National Film Award for Best Direction The National Film Award for Best Direction is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Since 1 ...

. In 1999 Jayaraj started his nine-film series project ''Navarasa'' with ''

Karunam ''Karunam'' is a 2000 Indian Malayalam film, directed and produced by Jayaraj. The film stars Biju Menon, Eliyamma, Madambu Kunjukuttan and Vavachan in lead roles. The film had musical score by Sunny Stephen. The film is the second installment ...

'', followed by '' Shantham'' (2001). '' Shantham'' won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...

. The third in the ''Navarasa'' series was ''Bheebhatsa'', a

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

film followed by ''Adbutham'' and ''Veeram''. In 2018, the sixth film in the series ''

'' 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 Tovino Thomas (born 21 January 1989) is an Indian actor and film producer who prominently works in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film ''Prabhuvinte Makkal''. His breakthrough roles were in the films ''ABCD'' (2013), '' 7t ...

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." Of late he has been doing commercial and art films and is successful in both genres. While ''

Thilakkam ''Thilakkam'' () is a 2003 Indian Malayalam-language comedy-drama film directed by Jayaraj and written by Rafi Mecartin. Dileep, Kavya Madhavan and Thiagarajan play the lead roles. The rest of the cast include Nedumudi Venu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, ...

'' (2003) and ''

'' (2004) were huge commercial successes ''

Kannaki Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic ''Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfai ...

'' (2002), ''Makalkku'' (2005), '' Daivanamathil'' (2005) and ''

'' (2015) were critically acclaimed. ''

'' 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.

Philanthropy

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' ports, Music, Art and Recreation Therapy (Yoga and Meditation)nd "Birds Club international" are the two projects initiated by the foundation. Word Organisation of Hope (WOH) is an organisation aimed at building children's awareness of their rights and to protect them. The programme SMART ports, 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. 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 Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future ge ...

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.

Awards

;International awards ; National Film Awards *1996 : Best Feature Film in Malayalam - ''

'' *1997 :

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

- ''

'' *2001 :

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

- '' Shantham'' *2005 : Best Film on National Integration - '' Daivanamathil'' *2007 : Best Non-Feature Film Direction - ''Vellapokkathil - The Deluge'' *2014 : Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation - ''

'' *2017 : Best Director - ''

'' *2017 : Best Adapted Screenplay - ''Bhayanakam'' *2017 : Special Jury mention - Rebirth ; Kerala State Film Awards *1992 :

Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the second best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under ...

- ''Kudumbasametham'' *1996 :

Kerala State Film Award for Best Director The Kerala State Film Award for Best Director is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969. It is given to a film director who has exhibited outstanding direction while working in the Malayalam film industry. ...

- '' Deshadanam'' *1997 : Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value - ''

'' *1999 :

Kerala State Film Award for Best Film The Kerala State Film Award for Best Film is an award presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to the best film in Malayalam cinema. The awards are managed directly by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy under the Department ...

- ''

'' *2015 :

- ''

'' ;Filmfare Awards South * 1997 :

: ''

'' * 2000 :

: ''

'' * 2000 : Best Film - Malayalam : ''

'' ;V. Shantharam Awards *1997 : ''

'' *2001 : '' Shantham'' ;John Abraham Awards *2000 : ''

'' *2012 : ''Vellapokkathil - The Deluge'' ;

Asianet Film Awards The Asianet Film Awards is an award ceremony for films presented annually by Asianet, a Malayalam-language television network from the south-Indian state of Kerala. Asianet says that awards ceremony has been instituted to honour both artis ...

* 2002: Asianet Film Award for Best Director for

;Ramu Karyatt Awards *1996 : ''

'' ;P. Padmarajan Awards *1996 : ''

'' *2000 : ''

Filmography

References

External links

*
All in the name of God

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

- 5 July 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jayaraj Malayali people 20th-century Indian film directors Malayalam film directors Kerala State Film Award winners Tamil film directors 1960 births Living people Filmfare Awards South winners Best Director National Film Award winners 21st-century Indian film directors Artists from Kottayam Film directors from Kerala Telugu film directors Hindi-language film directors Film producers from Kerala Screenwriters from Kerala Malayalam screenwriters Best Adapted Screenplay National Film Award winners Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Directors who won the Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation National Film Award Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award