Rajeevnath is a

National 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 Directorate ...

-winning

Malayalam film 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, '' Elippathaya ...

director.

Career

Rajeevnath ventured into filmmaking with a short film shot in

16mm 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

camera after finishing his university course. He debuted as a director of feature films with ''Thanal'' (1976). The film won him the

Kerala State Film Award for Best Director The Kerala State Film Award for Best Director is an honour presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India since 1969. It is given to a film director who has exhibited outstanding direction while working in the Malayalam film industry. ...

. The film also won

M. G. Soman M. G. Soman (28 September 1941 – 12 December 1997) was an Indian actor and former Indian Air Force officer who appeared in Malayalam films. He was one among the leading star actors doing hero roles in Malayalam Cinema during the late 1970s an ...

his only

Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an honour, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Depart ...

. His 1988 film ''Kadaltheerathu'', based on the short story by

O. V. Vijayan Ottupulackal Velukkuty Vijayan (2 July 1931 – 30 March 2005), commonly known as O. V. Vijayan, was an Indian author and cartoonist, who was an important figure in modern Malayalam language literature. Best known for his first novel '' Khasakk ...

was selected for Indian Panorama at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common p ...

. The film, made with a minuscule budget of Rs. 600,000 ($12000 as per 2012 conversion rate) was the Indian entry for

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Film Festival.Mothering A Revival – The New Indian Express
/ref> The film received mixed reviews, though according to Rajeevnath, Vijayan himself was very impressed with the film. His 1992 film ''Aham'' was made with Rs. 4.6 million, despite starring

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...

, one of the leading actors in the industry. His much awaited

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji G ...

–

starrer '' Swarnachamaram'' was dropped after the almost completion of the film due to script changes. In 1999, his film ''Janani'', exploring maternity, was premiered in

Oslo, Norway Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...

and won him the National Film Award for Best Direction. In 2006, he planned a biopic of

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

and reportedly considered socialite

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad ...

for the lead role. He also suggested that his industry friends such as

and

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

would accept roles in the project. The news created a furore prompting him to clarify that Hilton won't be playing Mother Teresa. However, the film was never made. In 2007, he announced his plan to make a film titled ''Ezham Mudra'' (The Seventh Seal), starring

Suresh Gopi Suresh Gopi (born 26 June 1958) is an Indian actor, politician, playback singer and television presenter. He works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and has also appeared in some Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bollywood films. Suresh made his acti ...

and

Mandira Bedi Mandira Bedi (born 15 April 1972) is an Indian actress, fashion designer, and television presenter. She gained recognition by playing the titular role in the 1994 television show, '' Shanti'', which was telecast on India's national channel, Door ...

as a tribute to the romantic classic

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

(1942) in the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War. This news too was extensively covered by foreign press, many reports wrongly referring to him as a "Bollywood director". This film also never materialised. In 2008, he teamed with Mohanlal again for '' Pakal Nakshatrangal'' (Stars of the Day Light). His latest was the Hindi film ''Anubhav: An Actor's Tale'' (2009), written by

Anoop Menon Anoop Menon (born 3 August 1976) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and lyricist. He worked in television before acting in Malayalam films and has acted in more than 75 films. Menon won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Supportin ...

who had also written Pakal Nakshatrangal.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rajeevnath, T. Malayali people Living people People from Changanassery Film directors from Kerala Malayalam film directors Kerala State Film Award winners 1951 births Best Director National Film Award winners Sainik School alumni Hindi-language film directors 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors