Rajiv Vijay Raghavan (born 29 May 1958) is an Indian

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

script writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

, and producer. His debut feature film was ''

Margam (film) ''Margam'' ( ml, മാര്‍ഗം meaning: ''the path'') is an Indian film co-written, directed and produced by Rajiv Vijay Raghavan under the banner of Image commune. The film is an adaptation of ''Pithrutharppanam'', the famous story by ...

''. He had also made a number of documentaries. He is an alumnus of Film & TV Institute of India, Pune, and assisted

G. Aravindan Govindan Aravindan (23 January 1935 – 15 March 1991) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, musician, cartoonist, and painter. He was one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in Malayalam. He was known for his unorthodox way of filmma ...

Life

Rajiv Vijay Raghavan was born on 29 May 1958 in Kottayam, Kerala, South-western India. He was active in politics and literature in his college days at Kottayam and was a council member of the University Students Union of Kerala University during 1977–78. After graduating in Commerce from the University of Kerala he joined the Film & TV Institute of India, Pune, during 1979–81. Raghavan took a job in Canara Bank on 1981 and worked there for 10 years. In the meantime, he closely acquainted with

and assisted him in 6 feature films during 1981–1991. Rajiv's debut documentary film, ''Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam'', 1986 which portrays the life of

Saint Alphonsa Alphonsa of the Immaculate Conception or Saint Alphonsa, christened at birth as Anna Muttathupadathu (19 August 1910– 28 July 1946), was a nun and an educator by vocation (profession). She was also known for being a victim soul, visionary ...

(Sister Alphonsa then) had won 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 ...

for the best biographical documentary.

National Film Award for Best Biographical Film The National Film Award for Best Biographical Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several award ...

After resigning from Canara Bank, Raghavan worked as Producer in Centre for Development of Imaging Technology, Kerala (C-DIT) during 1991-98 and made documentaries such as ''Kesari''(1992), ''Ruin of the Commons''(1993), ''Nirmithi''(1994) and ''Seeds of Malabar'' (1996). On 2003, under the banner of Image commune, a collective founded for the sake of promoting independent films, Rajiv made his milestone film, ''

'' (''The Path'').

Filmography

He had assisted director

in six feature films during 1981–91. He directed nine documentaries and short films including ''Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam'' (1987) '', People Matter-Women’s rights in India'' (1988), ''Kesari'' (1992), ''Ruin of the Commons'' (1993), ''Nirmithi'' (1994), ''Seeds of Malabar'' (1996) and ''Building the Bridge - a story of Gender equity'', 2000. He has also directed the feature Film: ''

''.

''Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam'' – a Historical Document

''Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam'' is about a nun from

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 ...

who would have been declared the first Catholic Saint from India in 2009. The print of the film was recovered a few days before the declaration ceremony in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and was screened during the holy event.

''Margam''

,'' His debut feature film is an adaptation of Pithrutharppanam by

M. Sukumaran M. Sukumaran (1943–2018) was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature, best known for his novels and short stories with political undertones. ''Marichittillathavarude Smarakangal'', ''Seshakriya'', ''Chuvanna Chihnangal'' and ''Janithakam'' fe ...

. The film won seven major

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 ...

of the Government of Kerala and one

Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director The Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of sev ...

oin the year 2003. ''

'' participated in 16 international film festivals and won six international awards in different categories including best film and scripting. The Script co-written by Rajiv Vijay Raghavan,

Anvar Ali Anwar Ali (born 1 July 1966), also known Anvar Ali, is an Indian poet and lyricist writing in Malayalam. He is also a literary editor and critic, translator, screen-writer, and documentary filmmaker. Career Literature Ali’s first collectio ...

and S P Ramesh, Cinematography by

Venu The ''venu'' (Sanskrit: ; /मुरळि; ''muraļi'') is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music. It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the ...

and the roles performed by

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...

and Meera Krishna were also appreciated.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raghavan, Rajiv Vijay Film directors from Kerala Malayalam film directors Living people 1958 births Kerala State Film Award winners Artists from Kottayam 21st-century Indian film directors Screenwriters from Kerala 20th-century Indian film directors Malayalam screenwriters Director whose film won the Best Debut Feature Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Debut Feature Film of a Director National Film Award