Jayaraj Explained

Jayaraj
Birth Name:Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair
Birth Date:31 May 1960
Birth Place:Kottayam, Kerala, India
Years Active:1990 - present

Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair, professionally credited as Jayaraj (born 31 May 1960), is an Indian filmmaker, who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry.

He has won many awards, including Crystal Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Golden Peacock award at the IFFI, and the FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics. He is also a seven-time recipient of the National Film Award and several Kerala State Film Awards. His films include Paithrukam (1993), Desadanam (1996), Kaliyattam (1997), 4 The People (2004), Vellapokkathil (2007), Ottaal (2015), Veeram (2016) and Bhayanakam (2018).

Early life

During his stay at Thiruvananthapuram, he attended film festivals including the International Film Festival of Kerala and watched many world classics.[1] Kurosawa's Rashomon and DeSica's Bicycle Thieves were among them, and they influenced him immensely.[2]

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 (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), Paithrukam (1993) and Sopanam (1993). Desadanam (1997) was followed by Kaliyattam (1997) which was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. It won him the National Film Award for Best Direction.

In 1999 Jayaraj started his nine-film series project Navarasa with Karunam, followed by Shantham (2001). Shantham won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. The third in the Navarasa series was Bheebhatsa, a Hindi film followed by Adbutham and Veeram. In 2018, the sixth film in the series Bhayanakam 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 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 (2003) and 4 The People (2004) were huge commercial successes Kannaki (2002), Makalkku (2005), Daivanamathil (2005) and Ottaal (2015) were critically acclaimed. Ottaal 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 (Sports, Music, Art and Recreation Therapy (Yoga and Meditation)) and Birds Club International are the two projects initiated by the foundation.[3]

World Organisation of Hope (WOH) is an organisation aimed at building children's awareness of their rights and to protect them. The programme SMART [Sports, 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 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
YearFilmAward (s)
2015OttaalCrystal Bear, Suvarna Chakoram, FIPRESCI award, NETPAC award, Rajatha Chakoram
2005DaivanamathilBest Film Award in Spain, Madrid International Film Festival
2000KarunamGolden Peacock Award, International Film Festival of India- Awards from Federation of International Film Societies, Berlin International Film Fest, Special Mention in Kerala International Film Festival.
2001ShanthamBest Cinematography in Festival De 3 Continents, France
1996DesadanamSpecial Mention at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in competition section.
National Film Awards
Kerala State Film Awards
Filmfare Awards South
V. Shantharam Awards
John Abraham Awards
Asianet Film Awards
Ramu Karyatt Awards
P. Padmarajan Awards

Filmography

YearTitleNotes
Rowspan=22024Announced
ManorathangalAnthology series
Segment:"Swargam Thurakkuna Samayam"
2023 Oru Perumgaliyattam Shooting Started (Releasing on Rootsvideo OTT Platform)
2023KadhikanStory and producer credits
2021Backpackers
2020HaasyamPart 8, Navarasa series.
2019Roudram 2018Part 7, Navarasa series. Also writer
2017BhayanakamPart 6, Navarasa series. Also writer
2016VeeramPart 5, Navarasa series. Also writer.Released also in Hindi & English
2015Ottaal[4]
2013Camel Safari[5]
2012Pakarnnattam[6]
2011Naayika[7]
2011The TrainWriter credits[8]
2009LoudspeakerWriter and producer credits
2008Gulmohar
2008Vellapokkathil[9]
2008Of The PeopleWriter and producer credits
2008Sila NerangalilTamil film
2007Anandabhairavi
2006Aanachandam
2006AdbuthamPart 4, Navarasa seriesReleased on Rootsvideo OTT Platform in 2021 April 14
2006Ashwaroodan
2005Daivanamathil
2005By the People
2005Makalkku
2004Yuvasena (Telugu)
2004Rain Rain Come Again
20044 the People
2003Thilakkam
2002Kannaki
2002BhibatsaPart 3, Navarasa seriesHindi Language[10]
2000Millennium Stars
2000KarunamPart 2, Navarasa series. Also producer
2000ShanthamPart 1, Navarasa series
1998Sneham
1998Thalolam
1997Kaliyattam
1997DesadanamAlso Producer
1995Arabia
1995High Way
1995Thumboli Kadappuram
1993Paithrukam
1993Sopanam
1992Johnnie Walker
1992Kudumbasametham
1991Aakasha Kottayile SultanStory credits
1990Vidhyarambham

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: cinemaofmalayalam.net: Profile . 4 December 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426203320/http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/jayaraj.html . 26 April 2012 . dead .
  2. Web site: Jayaraj: A director's profile . Rediff.com movies. December 20, 2005. 2014-08-14 .
  3. Web site: Birds Club International .
  4. Web site: 'Ottal' is more than an environmental film: Jayaraj. Manorama Online.
  5. Web site: Love in the sands of Pushkar. https://web.archive.org/web/20130906052325/http://newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/Love-in-the-sands-of-Pushkar/2013/05/30/article1611903.ece. dead. 6 September 2013. The New Indian Express.
  6. Web site: Lambs to the sacrifice . https://web.archive.org/web/20121108165806/http://www.hindu.com/fr/2011/01/14/stories/2011011450890200.htm. dead. 8 November 2012. P.K.Ajith Kumar. The Hindu. 14 January 2011.
  7. Web site: Another new film on Shrividhya. 21 January 2011. The Indian Express.
  8. Web site: Jayaraj ropes in Mammootty for Track With Rahman. 5 July 2010. Oneindia.in. dead. https://archive.today/20120709190712/http://entertainment.oneindia.in/malayalam/top-stories/2010/jayaraj-mammootty-rahman-050710.html. 9 July 2012. dmy-all.
  9. News: Films on hope and rebuilding. Staff Reporter. 2018-12-03. The Hindu. 2019-12-24. en-IN. 0971-751X.
  10. News: Bibhatsa. The Times of India. 16 September 2004 . en. 2019-12-24.