Jayaraj
{{short description|Indian filmmaker (born 1960)}}
{{For|the name (and list of people with the name)|Jayaraj (name)}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2023}}
{{use Indian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jayaraj
| image = Jayaraj.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|05|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Kottayam, Kerala, India
| occupation = {{hlist|Director|Screenwriter|Producer}}
| years_active = 1990–present
| spouse =
| children =
}}
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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/jayaraj.html |title=cinemaofmalayalam.net: Profile |access-date=4 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426203320/http://www.cinemaofmalayalam.net/jayaraj.html |archive-date=26 April 2012 |url-status=dead }} Kurosawa's Rashomon and DeSica's Bicycle Thieves were among them, and they influenced him immensely.{{cite web | title = Jayaraj: A director's profile |work=Rediff.com movies| url = http://www.rediff.com/movies/2005/dec/20jay.htm |date=December 20, 2005| access-date = 2014-08-14 }}
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).{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}
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."{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}
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.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}
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.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Birds Club International |url=https://birdsclubinternational.com/ }}
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.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}
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.{{citation needed|date= September 2022}}
Awards
;International awards
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Film ! Award (s) |
|---|
| 2015
| Ottaal | Crystal Bear, Suvarna Chakoram, FIPRESCI award, NETPAC award, Rajatha Chakoram |
| 2005
| Best Film Award in Spain, Madrid International Film Festival |
| 2000
| Karunam | Golden 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. |
| 2001
| Shantham | Best Cinematography in Festival De 3 Continents, France |
| 1996
| Special Mention at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in competition section. |
File:Noted Filmmaker Jayaraj being felicitated at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2015), in Panaji, Goa on November 26, 2015.jpg (2015) ]]
- 1996 : Best Feature Film in Malayalam - Desadanam
- 1997 : Best Director - Kaliyattam
- 2001 : Best Film - Shantham
- 2005 : Best Film on National Integration - Daivanamathil
- 2007 : Best Non-Feature Film Direction - Vellapokkathil (The Deluge)
- 2014 : Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation - Ottaal
- 2017 : Best Director - Bhayanakam
- 2017 : Best Adapted Screenplay - Bhayanakam
- 2017 : Special Jury mention - Rebirth
- 1992 : Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film - Kudumbasametham
- 1996 : Kerala State Film Award for Best Director - Deshadanam
- 1997 : Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value - Kaliyattam
- 1999 : Kerala State Film Award for Best Film - Karunam
- 2015 : Kerala State Film Award for Best Film - Ottaal
;Filmfare Awards South
- 1997 : Best Director : Kaliyattam
- 2000 : Best Director : Karunam
- 2000 : Best Film - Malayalam : Karunam
;V. Shantharam Awards
- 1997 : Kaliyattam
- 2001 : Shantham
;John Abraham Awards
- 2000 : Karunam
- 2012 : Vellapokkathil
- 2002: Asianet Film Award for Best Director for Kannaki
;Ramu Karyatt Awards
- 1996 : Desadanam
;P. Padmarajan Awards
Filmography
{{commons category|Jayarajan Rajasekharan Nair}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=0419687|name=Jayaraj}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070309103715/http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/06/stories/2005070602080200.htm All in the name of God] The Hindu - 5 July 2005
{{NationalFilmAwardBestDirection}}
{{National Film Award Best Screenplay}}
{{Filmfare Award Best Malayalam Director}}
{{Kerala State Film Award for Best Director}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:20th-century Indian people
Category:Malayalam film directors
Category:Kerala State Film Award winners
Category:Filmfare Awards South winners
Category:Best Director National Film Award winners
Category:21st-century Indian people
Category:Artists from Kottayam
Category:Film directors from Kottayam district
Category:Telugu film directors
Category:Hindi-language film directors
Category:Film producers from Kerala
Category:Screenwriters from Kerala
Category:Malayalam screenwriters
Category:Best Adapted Screenplay National Film Award winners
Category:Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award
Category:Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award