Rajesh M. Selva 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 ...

and

screenwriter 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. ...

, primarily working in

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

Career

Rajesh began his career in entertainment by being a part of the band, Shenanigans, which was formed in 1999 alongside his school mates Naresh and Sathish Ramalingam at

M. C. C. Higher Secondary School MCC Higher Secondary School (full name: Madras Christian College Higher Secondary School) is located in Chetpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was founded in 1835 and has a long, and illustrious history, including having produced many citizens ...

. He is a reputed corporate designer who did his Visual Design course with Mr. Jullius Mac Van. He also graduated a visual communications degree from St Thomas College in 2003 & did his Master's from Loyola College, Chennai in 2005 and continued to work on his music career, by recording songs at DesignSelva, a record company he founded in 2005. Alongside his band, he released the independent album ''She 16'', in collaboration with Saregama HMV, during October 2006. He subsequently went on to make a feature film with new technicians, titled '' Kaalaippani'' (2008), and shot for the project throughout 2007. Featuring

Vasundhara Vasundhara Kashyap is an Indian actress and model in Tamil language films. Career Vasundhara was born to a Tamil father and a Maharashtriann mother. She first appeared in the 2006 Tamil film, ''Vattaram'' and later starred in films includi ...

and

Nassar Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...

alongside several newcomers, ''Kaalaipani'' was a murder mystery film which had a low-key release, but received positive reviews. A critic noted that Rajesh Selva has "very well applied his paper works on the screen", adding his "clarity in execution is evident throughout the film". In 2008, Rajesh decided to join Raaj Kamal Films International on the advice of his friend, director Sri Krishna. He subsequently joined

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 l ...

for the pre-production works of ''Marmayogi'' and served as the film's third assistant director. He worked on gathering information to help script portions set in the 6th century and spent nearly forty-five days with the researchers at the archaeological department to know the scriptures of sixth century Tamil that existed in Pandiya kingdom. The film was shelved soon after but he continued to work with Raaj Kamal Films through the productions of both parts to '' Vishwaroopam'' (2013) and ''

Uttama Villain ''Uttama Villain'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and written by Kamal Haasan. The film was presented by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan and produced by S. Chandrahasan for Raaj Kam ...

'' (2015), playing cameo roles as an actor in both films. After gaining offers to direct films in 2014 after the completion of ''

Vishwaroopam II ''Vishwaroopam II'', or ''Vishwaroop II'', is a 2018 Indian spy action thriller film written and directed by Kamal Haasan and co-written by Atul Tiwari and Chakri Toleti. It is the sequel to ''Vishwaroopam'' (2013) and features Kamal Haasan alo ...

'' (2016), Rajesh left Kamal Haasan's team, but the films which were being planned failed to materialize. Kamal Haasan subsequently called him back to the company in April 2015 and requested that he direct the official remake of '' Sleepless Night'' (2011), which Raaj Kamal Films had purchased. Titled '' Thoongaa Vanam'' (2015) in Tamil and '' Cheekati Rajyam'' (2015) in Telugu, Rajesh completed both version of the film within sixty days of shoot. Featuring an ensemble cast headed by

, he worked with the actor on adapting the original script into the Tamil and Telugu languages, and wrote in new characters to be played by

Trisha Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia. Notable people and characters with the name include: People *Trisha (actress), Indian film actress Trisha Krishnan (born 1983) * Trisha Baptie (born 1973 ...

and

Madhu Shalini Madhu (Sanskrit: ) is a word used in several Indo-Aryan languages meaning ''honey'' or ''sweet''. It is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European ''*médʰu'', whence English ''mead''. Metaphorical use ''Madhu'' has been used for millennia sin ...

. Rajesh was also in charge of gathering and selecting the members of the cast and crew. The films opened in November 2015 to critical acclaim and had a good performance at the box office.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selva, Rajesh M Tamil film directors Tamil-language film directors Tamil screenwriters Film directors from Tamil Nadu Living people 21st-century Indian film directors Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu 1981 births