Rahul Riji Nair is an Indian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, scriptwriter, producer and actor active in the

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' ...

. His debut feature film ''

Ottamuri Velicham ''Ottamuri Velicham'' (English: Light in the Room) is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Rahul Riji Nair. It is produced under the banner of First Print Studios and has Vinitha Koshy and Deepak Parambol in the l ...

'' won 4 awards at the 2017

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

, including Best Feature Film. Rahul won the

67th National Film Awards The 67th National Film Awards were announced at a press meet on 22 March 2021 to honour the best Indian films certified in India between 1 January and 31 December 2019. The awards ceremony, at which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents it ...

for Best Malayalam Film in 2019 for his third feature film Kalla Nottam.

Personal life

Rahul was born in

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

on 21 March 1988 to Dr. Riji G. Nair and Rajasree Nair. He did his schooling from SN Trusts Central School, Kollam and graduated in Engineering from Amrita School of Engineering in 2009. He worked as a Software Engineer and then as Marketing Manager with multiple companies in

Technopark, Trivandrum Technopark is a technology park in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Established on 18 November 1990 by the Government of Kerala, under chief minister E K Nayanar, it is one the largest information technology (IT) park in India in terms of ...

before venturing into filmmaking. He is married to Nithya Vijay.

Career

Rahul started his career in the

in 2017 as the writer, producer and director of the Malayalam feature film ''

''. This film won 4 awards in Kerala State Film Awards 2017, including Best Feature Film of the year. His third feature film, Kalla Nottam won the 67th National Film Award for Best Malayalam Feature Film. His films have premiered at prestigious film festivals in Mumbai, Kolkata, New York, Stuttgart, Chicago etc. He has also won multiple international wards including the prestigious Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Feature Film at the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival and German Star of India Award for Best Feature film at the Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart. Rahul pioneered the production of mainstream Web Series in Malayalam by creating the first Originals for Major OTT platforms like Disney+ Hotstar and Sony LIV. He's noticed for his diverse body of work that has successfully traversed both Independent and Mainstream Cinema. Rahul founded the production house First Print Studios in 2011 and is currently serving the company as its CEO. As a self taught filmmaker, he ventured into independent filmmaking through Documentaries, Short Films and Music Videos. Rahul's first independent directorial was the documentary '' The Human Boundaries'' in 2012 and it was widely screened across

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His Tamil Music Video titled ''Mounam Sollum Varthaigal'' gave his first major break through as it went viral with over 25 million views.

Filmography

Feature Films

Web series

As actor

As Lyricist

Music Video

Short films

Documentary

Awards

;

National Film Awards 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 Directorat ...

* 2019 -

- Best Malayalam Film : ''Kalla Nottam'' ;

* 2017 -

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 ...

: ''

'' ;

Kerala Film Critics Award The Kerala Film Critics Association Awards are presented annually by the Kerala Film Critics Association to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Malayalam language film industry of India. The awards were instit ...

* 2020 - Special Jury Award :

Kho Kho Kho kho or kho-kho is a traditional Indian sport that dates back to ancient India. It is the second most popular traditional tag game in the Indian subcontinent after kabaddi. Kho kho is played on a rectangular court with a central lane connec ...

; International Awards * 2021 - Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Feature Film, 26th Kolkata International Film Festival: ''Kalla Nottam'' *2021 - Best Screenplay, Yellowstone International Film Festival: ''Kalla Nottam'' * 2020 - Best Film Innovation Award, Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati: ''Kalla Nottam'' * 2018 - German Star of India est Feature Film 15th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart: ''

'' * 2018 - Second Best Feature Film, Chicago South Asian Film Festival: ''

'' ; Nominations * 2020 - Best Film, Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati: ''Kalla Nottam'' * 2020 - Best Screenplay, Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati: ''Kalla Nottam'' * 2020 - Best Screenplay, New York Indian Film Festival: ''Kalla Nottam'' * 2018 - Best Film, New York Indian Film Festival: ''

''NYIFF 2018 Award Nominations
/ref> * 2018 - Best Director, New York Indian Film Festival: ''

'' * 2018 - Director's Vision Award, 15th Indian Film Festival Stuttgart: ''

'' * 2018 - Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality, Mumbai Film Festival: ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nair, Rahul Riji 21st-century Indian film directors Malayalam film directors Living people Film directors from Kollam district People from Kollam 1988 births Indian male screenwriters Screenwriters from Kerala Malayalam screenwriters Malayalam film producers Indian male film actors Male actors in Malayalam cinema Malayalam-language lyricists