Neeraj Madhav (born 26 March 1990), also known by his stage name NJ is an Indian actor, rapper and dancer who predominantly works in

Malayalam films 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' ...

. Neeraj is most popular for his role as Moosa Rehman in the

Amazon prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

web series ''

The Family Man ''The Family Man'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Brett Ratner, from a screenplay by David Diamond and David Weissman. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni, with Don Cheadle, Saul Rubinek, and Jeremy ...

''. He is also known for his roles in ''

Drishyam ''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal and Meena, with Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Roshan Basheer and N ...

'' (2013), ''

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

'' (2014), ''

Sapthamashree Thaskaraha ''Sapthamashree Thaskaraha'' ( ''Seven Good Thieves'') is a 2014 Malayalam-language heist comedy film directed and written by Anil Radhakrishnan Menon. The film features an ensemble cast of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Asif Ali, Nedumudi Venu, Sudhee ...

'' (2014), ''

Oru Vadakkan Selfie ''Oru Vadakkan Selfie'' () is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language road-comedy film directed by G. Prajith and scripted by Vineeth Sreenivasan. The film features Nivin Pauly, Manjima Mohan, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav and Vineeth Sreenivasan. The mu ...

'' (2015), ''Adi Kapyare Kootamani'' (2015), ''

Oru Mexican Aparatha ''Oru Mexican Aparatha'' (English: ''A Mexican Crime'') is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language political drama film directed by Tom Emmatty. The film stars Tovino Thomas, Neeraj Madhav and Roopesh Peethambaran. It was released on 3 March 2017 in ...

'' (2017).

Early life

Neeraj is a native of

Calicut district Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. T ...

in Kerala. He did his schooling from St. Joseph's Boys' Higher Secondary School, Calicut. Then graduated in Visual communications from SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kanchipuram and later did post-graduation in

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

from School of Drama and Fine Arts, Thrissur. His father Dr. K. Madhavan is a veterinarian, and his mother Latha, a teacher. The young talent started off as a dancer with the first edition of reality television programme ‘Super Dancer’ on

Amrita TV Amrita TV is an Indian Malayalam Language general Entertainment television channel owned by Mata Amritanandamayi Math. It was launched in 2005. Theme song The theme song, "Lokasamastha," was composed by Rahulraj for Mata Amritanandamayi's 50t ...

and made it to the final round. Neeraj is also a trained

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

dancer, having learned it under Kalamandalam Saraswathy and her daughter, Aswathy. He is also trained in

chenda The Chenda ( ml, ചെണ്ട, ) is a cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala and widely used in Tulu Nadu of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India. In Tulu Nadu (Coastal Karnataka), it is known as ''chende''. ...

and is a disciple of Kalanilayam Udayan Namboodiri. Neeraj has a younger brother Navneeth Madhav, another dancer turned actor in the family. He has acted in films such as ''

Shikkar ''Shikkar'' () is a 2010 Indian Malayalam-language mystery-thriller film directed by M. Padmakumar and written by S. Suresh Babu which was produced by Sreeraj Cinema. The film stars Mohanlal in lead role along with Kalabhavan Mani, Samuthira ...

'', ''Kottarathil Kutty Bhootham'',''Nallavan'' and '' Manikyakkallu'' and TV series such as ''Kuttichathan''.

Career

Neeraj made his entry to the

Malayalam cinema 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' ...

industry through Raaj Prabavathy Menon's ''

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'' into which he was selected through an audition. He was later noticed by director

Jeethu Joseph Jeethu Joseph (born 10 November 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also worked in a few Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Jeethu made his directional debut with the ...

and was invited to be a part of his movies ''

Memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

'' and ''

'', both turned out to be box office successes, with the latter becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. Meanwhile, Neeraj also acted in

Abrid Shine Abrid Shine is an Indian film director, screenwriter and fashion photographer in the Malayalam film industry. He made his directorial debut in 2014 with the film ''1983'', which won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director. Personal ...

's ''

'' and

Sathyan Anthikad Sathyan Anthikad is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and lyricist who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. In a career spanning five decades he has directed more than 50 films, been the lyricist for 12 films and been the scriptwriter f ...

's ''

Oru Indian Pranayakadha ''Oru Indian Pranayakadha'' () is a 2013 Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written by Ikbal Kuttipuram and directed by Sathyan Anthikad starring Fahadh Faasil and Amala Paul. The film was a sleeper hit despite competition from ''Drishyam' ...

''.

Anil Radhakrishnan Menon Anil Radhakrishnan Menon is an Indian film director working in Malayalam film. Career Anil Radhakrishnan Menon directed television commercials before venturing into feature films. His first film North 24 Kaatham starring Fahadh Faasil and Ned ...

's ''

'' - the story of seven thieves in which Neeraj plays one of the lead characters alongside Prithviraj,

Anoop Kannan Anoop Kannan is an Indian film director, producer and distributor who mainly works in Malayalam Cinema. Early life Kannan was born in Moovattupuzha, Ernakulam, as the elder son of Kesavan Nair and Vatsala Kumari. He has a brother, Ajeesh. Ca ...

Homely Meals ''Homely Meals'' is a 2014 Malayalam film written by Vipin Atley and directed by Anoop Kannan (who previously directed ''Jawan of Vellimala''), starring Vipin Atley, Rajesh Sharma, Neeraj Madhav and Srinda Ashab. The film received positive revi ...

and ''

Apothecary (film) ''Apothecary'' is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language medical thriller film directed by Madhav Ramadasan, and produced by George Mathew and Baby Mathew under the banner of Arambankudiyil Cinemas. The film stars Suresh Gopi, Jayasurya, Asif Ali, ...

'' - a medical drama directed by

Madhav Ramadasan Madhav Ramadasan is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, who works in Malayalam film industry. Personal life Madhav Ramadasan was born to P. Madhavan and T.P. Radha at Kalluvazhi near Ottapalam. He did his schooling at AKNM-MA Mem ...

are also other noted performances of the actor. Neeraj also debuted as an official choreographer through ''

'', scripted by

Vineeth Sreenivasan Vineeth Sreenivasan (born 1 October 1984) is an Indian playback singer, actor, film director, screenwriter, producer, lyricist, creative director and dubbing artist. He predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. He is the son of actor an ...

, with the fun song "Enne thallendammava". His other releases in 2015 also include ''

Jamna Pyari Jamna Pyari is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by Thomas Sebastian. It was a superhit film.The film stars Kunchacko Boban and Gayathri Suresh in the lead roles. Anishlal R S handles the cinematography.The music was compo ...

'', ''

Kunjiramayanam ''Kunjiramayanam'' ( The story of Kunjiraman) is a 2015 Indian Malayalam-language comedy film directed by debutant Basil Joseph and scripted by Deepu Pradeep.The film features Vineeth Sreenivasan, Dhyan Sreenivasan and Aju Varghese in the lead ...

'', '' Madhura Naranga'', '' KL.10 Pathu'', '' Charlie'' and ''

Adi Kapyare Kootamani ''Adi Kapyare Kootamani'' ( is a 2015 Indian Malayalam comedy horror film co-written and directed by John Varghese and starring Dhyan Sreenivasan, Namitha Pramod, Mukesh, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, Vineeth Mohan and Bijukuttan. The film was ...

''. The movie ''Oozham'', which has Prithviraj in the lead, has Neeraj in a full-length role. Neeraj also portrayed a pivotal role in Tom Emmatty's ''

''. Neeraj debuted as a screenplay writer through the movie ''

Lavakusha ''Lavakusha'' (stylized as ''LavaKusha'') is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language comedy thriller film directed by Gireesh Mano and starring Neeraj Madhav, Aju Varghese, Biju Menon, Deepti Sati, Aditi Ravi and Vijay Babu. The songs were composed by ...

'' in 2017 and also played one of the title characters in this along with Aju Varghese. Neeraj plays his first lead role in the movie ''

Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam ''Paippin Chuvattile Pranayam'' is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Domin D'Silva who also co-wrote the screenplay with Antony Jibin. It stars Neeraj Madhav, Reba Monica John, Aju Varghese, Sudhi Koppa, Appani Sarath, Dharmaja ...

''. It was directed by debutant Domin D'Silva. He portrays Govindankutty, a daily wage laborer in this movie. In 2019, Neeraj starred as the main antagonist, Moosa Rehman in the web series titled ''

''. This action-drama series by

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

is helmed and produced by director duo Raj and DK. The series also stars

Manoj Bajpayee Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...

Priyamani Priya Vasudev Mani Iyer (born 4 June 1984), known by her professional name Priyamani, is an Indian actress and former model, who works in the South Indian film industry. She is a recipient of Several Awards. Priyamani made her acting debut t ...

and Kishore in major roles. In July 2020, he released a rap song titled "Pani Paali".

Personal life

Neeraj is the son of Dr. K. Raghavan and Latha Madhavan. He married his long time girlfriend Deepthi on April 2, 2018, who is also a native of Kozhikode. The couple has a daughter born in 2021.

Filmography

*All films are in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

language unless otherwise noted.

Films

Web Series

Other works

As choreographer

As screenwriter

Discography

Awards and nominations

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 ...

*2018 – Won – Best Star Pair –

Asiavision Awards Asiavision Awards have been held annually since 2006 to honor the artistes and technicians of Indian cinema and television & is organized under the leadership of renowned journalist Nissar Syed. More than 40,000 people across United Arab Emirates ...

* 2015 – Won – New Sensation in Acting (Male) for performance in various movies North American Film Awards * 2016 – Special mention by the jury for performance in various movies * 2017 – Special mention by the jury for performance in

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Madhav, Neeraj 1987 births Living people Male actors from Kozhikode Male actors in Malayalam cinema Indian male film actors 21st-century Indian male actors