Rahul Riji Nair | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 21 March 1988 |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2017–present |
| Spouse | Nithya Vijay |
| Parents |
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| Awards |
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Rahul Riji Nair is an Indian film director, scriptwriter, producer and actor active in the Malayalam film industry. His debut feature film Ottamuri Velicham won 4 awards at the 2017 Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Feature Film. [1] Rahul won the 67th National Film Awards for Best Malayalam Film in 2019 for his third feature film Kalla Nottam. [2]
Rahul was born in Kollam, Kerala on 21 March 1988 to Dr. Riji G. Nair and Rajasree Nair. He did his schooling from SN Trusts Central School, Kollam and graduated in Engineering from Amrita School of Engineering in 2009.
He worked as a Software Engineer and then as Marketing Manager with multiple companies in Technopark, Trivandrum before venturing into filmmaking. [3] He is married to Nithya Vijay. [4]
Rahul started his career in the Malayalam film industry in 2017 as the writer, producer and director of the Malayalam feature film Ottamuri Velicham . This film won 4 awards in Kerala State Film Awards 2017, including Best Feature Film of the year. His third feature film, Kalla Nottam won the 67th National Film Award for Best Malayalam Feature Film.
His films have premiered at prestigious film festivals in Mumbai, Kolkata, New York, Stuttgart, Chicago etc. He has also won multiple international wards including the prestigious Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award for Best Feature Film at the 26th Kolkata International Film Festival and German Star of India Award for Best Feature film at the Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart.
Rahul pioneered the production of mainstream Web Series in Malayalam by creating the first Originals for Major OTT platforms like Disney+ Hotstar and Sony LIV. [5] He's noticed for his diverse body of work that has successfully traversed both Independent and Mainstream Cinema.
Rahul founded the production house First Print Studios in 2011 and is currently serving the company as its CEO. As a self taught filmmaker, he ventured into independent filmmaking through Documentaries, Short Films and Music Videos. Rahul's first independent directorial was the documentary The Human Boundaries in 2012 and it was widely screened across India, Europe and the United States. His Tamil Music Video titled Mounam Sollum Varthaigal gave his first major break through as it went viral with over 25 million views.
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Credited As | Language | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Producer | ||||
| 2017 | Ottamuri Velicham | Yes | Yes | Yes | Malayalam |
|
| 2018 | Dakini | Yes | Yes | Malayalam | ||
| 2019 | Kalla Nottam † | Yes | Yes | Yes | Malayalam |
|
| 2020 | Kho-Kho | Yes | Yes | Yes | Malayalam |
|
| 2022 | Keedam | Yes | Yes | Yes | Malayalam | |
| 2025 | Flask | Yes | Yes | Yes | Malayalam | |
| Year | Title | Network | Credited As | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Director | Writer | Producer | ||||
| 2023 | Kerala Crime Files | Disney+ Hotstar | Yes | First Malayalam Originals on Disney+ Hotstar [6] | |||
| 2024 | Jai Mahendran | Sony LIV | Yes | Yes | Yes | First Malayalam Originals on Sony LIV [7] [8] | |
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Kho-Kho | Vinod | Malayalam | Debut as Actor [9] |
| 2022 | Keedam | Vijay | Malayalam | |
| 2023 | Tholvi F.C. | CEO | Malayalam | |
| 2024 | Jai Mahendran | Balagopal / Balu | Malayalam | Digital Debut As Actor [10] |
| Year | Film | Song Name | Music Director | Singers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Kho-Kho | Theeram Thane Unarum | Sidhartha Pradeep | Nandagopan V | Debut As Lyricist |
| Year | Film | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Mounam Sollum Varthaigal | Tamil | Screenplay & Direction |
| Year | Film | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Survival Stories | Malayalam | Anthology created during the COVID-19 Lockdown [11] |
| 2016 | Troll Life | Malayalam | Platinum Film of the Year - India Film Project 2016 |
| 2016 | Netaji | Malayalam | Musical Short |
| 2015 | Rs. 2 | Malayalam | Audience Choice Winner - 48 Hour Film Project, Mumbai |
| 2015 | MJ | Malayalam | Best Film #9 - India Film Project 2015 [12] |
| 2014 | Malai Kofta | Malayalam | |
| Year | Film | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Human Boundaries | English-Hindi | Widely screened across India, UK & USA |
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Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair was an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was one of the masters of post-Independence Indian literature. Randamoozham, which retells the story of the Mahabharata from the point of view of Bhimasena, is widely credited as his masterpiece.
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Ottamuri Velicham is a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Rahul Riji Nair. It is produced under the banner of First Print Studios and has Vinitha Koshy and Deepak Parambol in the lead roles. The film unveils the journey of a newly wed girl who moves into a one-room shack in an isolated village with her husband. The film portrays the social issue of marital rape in India. The film won 4 awards at the 2017 Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Feature Film of the year. The film had its World Premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival on May 11, 2018. The film was released on Eros Now as an Original in November, 2018.
Pauly Valsan is an Indian actress who has been acclaimed for acting in Malayalam films and plays. She debuted in Malayalam film industry with the supporting roles in the 2008 movie Annan Thambi In 2017, she won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actress for her performance in Ee.Ma.Yau directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and Ottamuri Velicham directed by Rahul Riji Nair. In 2022, she won Kerala State Film Award for Best Dubbing Artist.
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The Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actress is an award, begun in 2015, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actress for her performance in a Malayalam film. It replaced the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress, which was discontinued in 2014. The winner receives a certificate, statuette and a cash prize of ₹50,000.
The 26th Kolkata International Film Festival took place from 8 to 15 January 2021. It was scheduled to take place from 5 to 12 November 2020 but was postponed to January 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.
Kho-Kho is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language sports drama film written and directed by Rahul Riji Nair starring Rajisha Vijayan, Mamitha Baiju and produced by First Print Studios. The film was released on 14 April 2021.
Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language, comedy-drama film written and directed by Senna Hegde. The film won the Best Feature Film in Malayalam at the 68th National Film Awards. It was also chosen as the Second Best Film and Senna Hegde received the award for Best Story at the 51st Kerala State Film Awards. The film was also selected for the 25th International Film Festival of Kerala under the "Malayalam Cinema Today" category. The film was produced by Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah under the banner of Pushkar Films.
Keedam (transl. Pest) is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language thriller film directed by Rahul Riji Nair and starring Rajisha Vijayan and Sreenivasan. The film was released in theatres on 20 May 2022.
Aavasavyuham: The Arbit Documentation of An Amphibian Hunt also more commonly known as Aavasavyuham is a 2022 Indian Malayalam language mockumentary science fiction comedy film written and directed by Krishand. The film stars Rahul Rajagopal, Sreenath Babu, Sreejith Babu, Zhinz Shan in the lead roles, Technical crew for the movie is Chief Associate Director Vysakh Reetha, Editing by Rakesh Cherumadam and Cinematography by Vishnu Prabhakar. The approach used to depict the storyline in the film was inspired from Warren Beatty's directorial Reds and Christopher Nolan's directorial Interstellar. The film was streamed via SonyLIV from 4 August 2022 as a LIV originals opening to positive reviews from critics. The film also won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film in 2021 and Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay in 2021. Film critic Anna M. M. Vetticad ranked it third in her year-end list of best Malayalam films of 2022.
Kalla Nottam is a 2019 Indian Malayalam language coming-of-age drama film directed by Rahul Riji Nair starring Vasudev, Suryadev, and Ansu.
Jai Mahendran is an Indian Malayalam-language drama streaming television series directed by Srikanth Mohan and written by Rahul Riji Nair. Produced under First Print Studios, starring Saiju Kurup and Miya George in lead roles. as Priya Mahendran. It premiered on SonyLIV on 11 October 2024.