Shaji Kailas

Shaji Kailas (born 8 February 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Malayalam cinema. Shaji got a breakthrough with the comedy film '' Dr. Pasupathy'' (1990).

He is best known for his action films with mainly focusing on political thriller and crime genres such as '' Thalastaanam'' (1992), '' Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans'' (1993), '' Ekalavyan'' (1993), ''Mafia'' (1993), ''Commissioner'' (1994), '' The King'' (1995), '' Aaraam Thampuran'' (1997), '' Narasimham'' (2000), '' Valliettan'' (2000), '' Kaduva'' and '' Kaapa'' (2022).

Early and personal life

Shaji was born to Shivaraman Nair who was an executive engineer in the Kerala Public Works Department and Janakiyamma on 8 February 1965.

He is married to former actress Annie. They currently reside at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India and have three sons Jagan, Sharon, and Rushin.

Career

1984–1991: Early career

Shaji Kailas started his film career as assistant director under renowned writer director Balu Kiriyath in 1984. Shaji Kailas' debut as a director was in 1989 with ''The'' ''News'', starring Suresh Gopi in the lead role. Scripted by Jagadish, this investigative thriller was a hit at the box office. With the film, Shaji succeeded in gaining attention of film viewers. But his second release ''Sunday 7 PM'', came out in 1990 was a failure. Later in the same year, he directed '' Dr. Pasupathy'', a political satire, with Innocent in a leading role. ''Dr. Pashupathi'', written by Renji Panicker, ended up as one of the biggest grosser of the year. This film also marked the beginning of Shaji Kailas- Renji Panicker combo, which later went into making of several super hits. But, the success of ''Dr. Pashupathy'' was followed by '' Souhrudam'', a romantic comedy starring Mukesh and Sai Kumar in the leading roles. His next film, '' Kilukkampetti'', with Jayaram in the lead role was hit. After this in 1992 he switched to action films with the blockbuster '' Thalastaanam,'' which would go on to become his trademark genre.

1992–2000: Breakthrough

In the year 1992 Shaji Kailas got his first real career break. His association with Renji Panicker brought out '' Thalastaanam'', with Suresh Gopi in the leading role. Revolved around student politics, ''Thalastaanam'' also marked the rebirth of Renji Panicker as a scriptwriter. This film also marked Suresh Gopi's first step to super stardom. The cinematography of the film was done by Ravi K. Chandran. This film also saw the rise of Narendra Prasad, who later became one of the most acclaimed villains in the Malayalam industry. In the same year Shaji Kailas tried out a comedy flick, ''Neelakurukkan'', which was above average grosser. But in the beginning of 1993 Shaji Kailas landed up again with another blockbuster, '' Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans''. In the same year, '' Ekalavyan'' completed a run of 150 days in the theatres & played a crucial role in elevating lead actor Suresh Gopi to superstardom. Again in the same year, the Shaji Kailas-Renji Panicker- Suresh Gopi team returned with ''Mafia'', a gangster film completely shot in Bangalore. It was still known for its well-choreographed action sequences that pitted against an upcoming crime boss Ravishankar portrayed by Suresh Gopi against the ever-threatening Gowda brothers portrayed by Tiger Prabhakar and Babu Antony.

In 1994 ''Commissioner'', (again with Suresh Gopi in title role) broke several box office records and went on to become the highest-grossing film of the year. In 1995, he collaborated with Mammootty for the first time in '' The King'' which was the highest grossing Malayalam film at the time and ran successfully for 200 days in several centers. A turning point in his career, the success of the film made him one of the most commercially successful and sought after directors in Malayalam film industry. In the next year, in 1997 Shaji Kailas again joined with Ranjith for a low-budget action film titled '' Asuravamsam'', with Manoj K. Jayan, Siddique and Biju Menon in leading roles. This film was criticized by many for its gory violence. He also done some cinematography for action sequences of the film. '' Asuravamsam'' was also an average grosser. In the same year, he again joined with Ranjith to make '' Aaram Thamburan'', a turning point in his film career. In this film, he joined with Mohanlal for the first time. This film was the highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time and was able to complete 250 days in theatres. Then came ''The Truth'', in 1998, with Mammooty in the lead role. It was an investigative thriller. In 1999, he directed '' F. I. R'', another action flick with his friend Suresh Gopi as the lead actor scripted by Dennis Joseph. ''F. I. R'' emerged one of the top grossers of the year''.''

2000–2012: Commercial stardom, decline and hiatus

In 2000, he directed two films. '' Narasimham'', released in the first weeks of the year, with Mohanlal in the lead came '' Thandavam'', though evoked one of the biggest initial pulls in the history of Malayalam cinema, ''Thandavam'' failed at the box office. He took a break for one year. It was at this time, Shaji again tried out his luck in Tamil with '' Jana'' in (2004).

In the year 2004 Shaji Kailas made a comeback in Malayalam with '' Natturajavu''. With Mohanlal in lead role and, scripted by T. A. Shahid, ''Natturajavu'' was a commercial success '' Chinthamani Kolacase'', a vigilante action thriller with Suresh Gopi in leading role and '' Baba Kalyani'' with Mohanlal released. Both were hits at the box office. However, his first film with Dileep, '' The Don'', turned into a huge flop in 2006. The next film, But things again got lost in the same year itself. His first film with Dileep, '' The Don'', turned into a huge flop. The next film Baba Kalyani, starring Mohanlal, was an average hit. But then came a series of flops. ''Time'' (2007), ''Alibhai'' (2007), '' Sound of Boot'' (2008), all bombed. Alibhai, was a big budget film with all leading stars in a row appeasing, but still bombed at box office. Even hard core Mohanlal fans couldn't digest the film. Then came Red Chilliess in 2009, it was a moderate success at box-office. In January 2010, Shaji Kailas directed Drona 2010, which received mixed reviews. Beginning of 2011 showcased his attempt to reclaim his position within Malayalam industry with the sequel of yesteryear mega hit ''August 1'', '' August 15'' which garnered heavy negative reviews from critics and audiences alike and was finally declared as another flop by Shaji Kailas. His next movie was with Mammotty and Suresh Gopi named '' The King and the Commissioner'' the movie was the next part of the yesteryear films '' The King'' and ''Commissioner''. This movie was a hit in the box office but this movie also received a good amount of positive reviews from both the critic and the audiences.

2022: Resurgence

On 16 October 2019, it was announced that Shaji Kailas would be marking his re-entry in films after his hiatus with '' Kaduva'', starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Vivek Oberoi in the lead roles. ''Kaduva'' was released on 7 July 2022 to mixed-to-positive reviews from the critics. The film grossed around ₹50 crores and became a commercial success. He again directed Prithviraj for the third time in '' Kaapa'', the same year, co-starring Asif Ali in the lead role. Upon release, ''Kaapa'' received mixed reviews from the critics and became an average grosser. His next directorial, '' Alone'' (2023), starring Mohanlal, was released to mixed reviews and turned out to be a box-office failure.

Filmography

Director

Other credits

Accolades

Filmfare Awards South
*1993: Best Director Malayalam – '' Ekalavyan''

Asianet Film Awards
*2000: Best Director Award – '' Narasimham''

References

External links

*

On the trail of the 'Tiger'



Shaji Kailas in Keralacafe

Shaji Kailas's
movies i
Malayalam Movies

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kailas, Shaji
Malayalam film directors
Film directors from Thiruvananthapuram
Tamil film directors
1965 births
Living people
Filmfare Awards South winners
Malayalam screenwriters
Film producers from Thiruvananthapuram
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
Screenwriters from Thiruvananthapuram
21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
Indian Hindus