M. Rajesh is an Indian film director and screenwriter, working primarily in the
Tamil film industry
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 ...
. Known for making comedy films, he made his directorial debut with ''
Siva Manasula Sakthi
''Siva Manasula Sakthi'' () also known by the initialism ''SMS'', is a 2009 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant M. Rajesh, a former assistant of director S. A. Chandrasekhar. It stars Jiiv ...
'' in 2009 and followed it up with ''
Boss Engira Bhaskaran'' (2010) and ''
Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'' (2012), all three of which emerged very successful at the box office. After this his subsequent films became
box-office bombs and he was described by ''
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' as having lost his "
Midas touch
Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for hi ...
".
Rajesh has also been heavily criticised for his films glorifying stalking, drinking and degrading women.
Early life
M. Rajesh was born in
Nagercoil
Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...
. After studying engineering at
National Engineering College
History
National Engineering College (NEC), Kovilpatti, Kovilpatti, Tamil Nadu, a self-financing autonomous institution affiliated to Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, was established in 1984 by Kalvithanthai Thiru.K.Ramasamy. The institu ...
in
Kovilpatti
Kovilpatti is an Industrial City and Special Grade Municipality in Thoothukudi District in the Indian States of India, state of Tamil Nadu.
History
The town already existed before 1876. Kovilpatti was a water stop for steam engines after the ...
, he worked as an information technology professional in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
for six months before deciding to pursue a career in film.
Career
Rajesh worked with the production unit ''Cosmic Blues'', and as an assistant on many short films and advertisement films for one-and-a-half years before shifting to
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. He began his feature film career as an assistant director under
Ameer in ''
Mounam Pesiyadhe
''Mounam Pesiyadhe'' () is a 2002 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romantic drama film, written and directed by Ameer (director), Ameer in his directorial debut. It stars Suriya (actor), Suriya and debutant Trisha (actress), Trisha in the ...
'' (2002), and later assisted
S. A. Chandrasekhar
S. A. Chandrasekar (born 2 July 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, writer, and actor who primarily works within Kollywood. He made his directorial debut with ''Aval Oru Pachai Kuzhanthai'' (1978), He got his breakthrough with ''Sattam ...
on a few films including ''
Sukran
''Sukran'' is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written, produced and directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film stars Vijay in an extended cameo as the title character with Ravi Krishna and Anita Hassanandani. The music was co ...
'' (2005) and ''
Nenjirukkum Varai'' (2006). After deciding to turn director, Rajesh opted against imitating Ameer or Chandrasekhar's directing styles, but wanted his own style that would appeal to youngsters, and wrote the script of ''
Siva Manasula Sakthi
''Siva Manasula Sakthi'' () also known by the initialism ''SMS'', is a 2009 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant M. Rajesh, a former assistant of director S. A. Chandrasekhar. It stars Jiiv ...
'' (2009).
The film became a commercial success, as did his next two directorial ventures, ''
Boss Engira Bhaskaran'' (2010) and ''
Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'' (2012). All three films were described by ''
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' as having reinvented "the trend of light-hearted comedy entertainers without big storylines".
Rajesh later wrote the dialogues for ''
Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'' (2013), also a success. However, his subsequent directorial ventures ''
All in All Azhagu Raja
''All in All Azhagu Raja'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by M. Rajesh. Karthi in dual lead roles with, Kajal Aggarwal and Santhanam in the supporting roles. It marks the second collaboration betw ...
'' (2013), ''
Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga'' (2015),
''
Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru'' (2016) and ''
Mr. Local'' (2019) became
box-office bombs. By the time of ''Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga''s release, he was described by ''Sify'' as having lost his "
Midas touch
Midas (; grc-gre, Μίδας) was the name of a king in Phrygia with whom several myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house.
The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for hi ...
", and that he "should work on something out of the box to taste the much needed success".
His next venture, ''
Vanakkam Da Mappilei'', premiered on
Sun NXT in 2021. In 2022, Rajesh directed "Mirrage", an episode of the anthology thriller series ''
Victim
Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to:
People
* Crime victim
* Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis
Films and television
* ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by t ...
'', deviating from his usual comedy films. He also began work on a film tentatively titled ''JR 30'' (as it is the 30th film to star
Jayam Ravi).
Personal life
Rajesh is married to Shakthi, who he met while working as an assistant under Chandrashekhar.
Rajesh's father died on 2 October 2010.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajesh, M.
21st-century Indian film directors
21st-century Indian screenwriters
Film directors from Tamil Nadu
Living people
People from Nagercoil
Screenwriters from Tamil Nadu
Tamil film directors
Tamil screenwriters
Year of birth missing (living people)