Rajesh M Selva | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March , 21 |
| Other names | Rajesh Selvaraj |
| Alma mater | Loyola College, Chennai M. C. C. Higher Secondary School, Chennai |
| Occupation(s) | Director, Screenwriter |
Rajesh M. Selva [1] is an Indian film director and screenwriter, primarily working in Tamil cinema. [2] Selva became a notable director with the Kamal Haasan starrer Thoongaa Vanam . [3]
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. 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. [4] [5] He subsequently went on to make a feature film with new technicians, titled Kaalaippani (2008), and shot for the project throughout 2007. Featuring Vasundhara and Nassar 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". [6] [7]
In 2008, Rajesh decided to join Raaj Kamal Films International on the advice of his friend, director Sri Krishna. He subsequently joined Kamal Haasan for the pre-production works of Marmayogi and served as the film's third assistant director. [8] 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 (2015), playing cameo roles as an actor in both films. [9]
After gaining offers to direct films in 2014 after the completion of Vishwaroopam II (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. [8] [10] 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 Kamal Haasan, 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 and Madhu Shalini. [11] Rajesh was also in charge of gathering and selecting the members of the cast and crew. [12] The films opened in November 2015 to critical acclaim and had a good performance at the box office. [13] [14]
In 2022, Selva helmed Irai , a Tamil-language crime thriller series for Aha Tamil, starring R. Sarathkumar in the lead role [15] and now Selva is directing Aditi Rao Hydari and Anson Paul in a Tamil-Telugu bi-lingual. [16]
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(November 2022) |
| Year | Film | Language | Credited as | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Actor | |||||
| 2008 | Kaalaippani | Tamil |  | |  | — | |
| 2013 | Vishwaroopam (Vishwaroop in Hindi) | Tamil / Hindi | | | | Terrorist | Also assistant director |
| 2015 | Uttama Villain | Tamil | | | | Spy | |
| 2015 | Thoongaa Vanam (Cheekati Rajyam in Telugu) | Tamil / Telugu | | | | Head Chef | |
| 2019 | Kadaram Kondan | Tamil | | | | — | |
| 2022 | Irai | Tamil | | | | — | Web series |
Kamal Haasan is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter, social activist and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has also appeared in some Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali films. Considered as one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, Haasan is also known for introducing many new film technologies and film making techniques to the Indian film industry. He has won numerous accolades, including Four National Film Awards, Nine Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Four Nandi Awards, One Rashtrapati Award, Two Filmfare Awards and 17 Filmfare Awards South. He was awarded the Kalaimamani Award in 1984, the Padma Shri in 1990, the Padma Bhushan in 2014 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Chevalier) in 2016.
Raja Paarvai is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. The story was written by Kamal Haasan, for whom the film was his 100th as an actor and first as a producer. The score and soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Loosely based on the 1972 film Butterflies Are Free, it was simultaneously made and released as Amavasya Chandrudu in Telugu. Despite being a box office failure, the film received critical acclaim, and Haasan's performance won him the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor. Thota Tharani made his debut as an art director with the film.
Vikram is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language action spy film directed by Rajasekhar and written by Kamal Haasan and Sujatha. The film stars Haasan, Sathyaraj, Amjad Khan, Lissy, Dimple Kapadia, Charuhasan and Janagaraj. It is the first Indian film to use computer for recording the songs. The screenplay was first published as a serial in the magazine Kumudam. Both Lissy and Kapadia made their Tamil debut through this film.
Subha Sankalpam is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language film directed by K. Viswanath and produced by noted singer, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. It stars Kamal Haasan, Aamani and Priya Raman, with Viswanath also playing a pivotal role. P. C. Sreeram handled the camera while M. M. Keeravani composed the music for the film. The film won five Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards. The film was later dubbed into Tamil-language as Paasavalai.
Kamal Haasan is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer, and dance choreographer who works primarily in Tamil cinema. At the age of 5, he debuted as a child actor in the 1960 Tamil film Kalathur Kannamma, directed by A. Bhimsingh, which won him the President's Gold Medal. Since then, he has acted in over 230 films in Tamil and other languages including Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali. After a few projects as a child artist, he took a break to continue his education. He later concentrated on dance choreography and worked as an assistant choreographer. During this time, he made uncredited appearances in a few films which he worked on.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, commonly known as Singeetam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile directors of India. He is credited with having revolutionised the South Indian cinema with experimental films. He has directed about sixty films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, and English languages across multiple genres. He has garnered two National Film Awards, five Nandi Awards, three Karnataka State Film Awards, and three Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, Rao was honored with Life Achievement Award from the Film Federation of India.
Raaj Kamal Films International is an Indian film production and distribution company founded and headed by Kamal Haasan. Raja Paarvai (1981) was the first film to be produced by them under the banner "Haasan Brothers" before renaming it to Raaj Kamal Films International.
Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. Born into the Tyabji–Hydari family, she made her film debut with the Malayalam film Prajapathi (2006). She went on to have supporting roles in several Hindi films, including the dramas Yeh Saali Zindagi (2011) and Rockstar (2011), the horror film Murder 3 (2013), the thriller Wazir (2016), and the period drama Padmaavat (2018).
Vishwaroopam is a 2013 Indian action spy film co-written, directed and produced by Kamal Haasan, who also enacts the lead role. The film also stars Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah, Nassar and Jaideep Ahlawat in supporting roles. The film's script was written by Kamal Hassan, Chakri Toleti and Atul Tiwari. In the film, Nirupama, an ambitious woman studying in the US, marries a coward classical dancer, Viswanathan. On being suspicious of his behaviour, she hires a detective, who reveals his true identity and past.
Chennaiyil Oru Naal is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language thriller film written by brothers Bobby and Sanjay and directed by Shaheed Kader. The film has an ensemble cast including R. Sarathkumar, Cheran, Prasanna, Prakash Raj, Radhika Sarathkumar, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Iniya, Sachin Mani, Aishwarya Devan and Gabriella Charlton. The film is the remake of the 2011 Malayalam thriller film Traffic. The film has its narrative in a hyperlink format. A multi-narrative thriller that intertwines multiple stories around one particular incident, the film is inspired from an actual event in Chennai. It was titled Naangu Vazhi Saalai earlier. The film opened on 29 March 2013 to positive reviews. The film was a blockbuster at the box office. A spiritual successor titled Chennaiyil Oru Naal 2 was released on 2017.
Vishwaroopam is the soundtrack album, composed by the music trio Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, for the Tamil film of the same name, directed by Kamal Haasan. The album features five tracks, with lyrics penned by Vairamuthu and Kamal Hassan himself. The soundtrack's Hindi version Vishwaroop, has lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar.
Vishwaroopam II, or Vishwaroop II, is a 2018 Indian action spy 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 alongside Rahul Bose, Shekhar Kapur, Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah, reprising their roles. While the first film was set in the United States, Vishwaroopam II takes place in India. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Hindi.
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 Kamal Films International and N. Subash Chandrabose for Thirupathi Brothers Film Media. It features an ensemble cast that includes Kamal Hassan, K. Viswanath, K. Balachander, Jayaram, Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Nassar, Parvathy Thiruvothu and Urvashi in prominent roles. This is the posthumous film of actor and director, K. Balachander following his death in December 2014.
Thoongaa Vanam is a 2015 Indian action thriller film directed by Rajesh M. Selva. The film stars an ensemble cast including Kamal Haasan, Prakash Raj, Trisha, Kishore, Sampath Raj, Guru Somasundaram, Yugi Sethu, Aman Abdullah, Asha Sharath, Madhu Shalini and Jagan. It was filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, the latter titled Cheekati Rajyam. Both versions were produced by Raaj Kamal Films International and Sree Gokulam Movies. The film is an adaption of the French film Sleepless Night (2011).
Sanu John VarugheseISC is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in the Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. After beginning his career as a technician in DD News, commercials and documentaries, he worked on Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam films. He won acclaim for his work in Kamal Haasan's spy thriller, Vishwaroopam (2013).
Anson Paul is an Indian actor who has appeared in Malayalam Cinema along with a few Tamil language films. Paul made his acting debut in the 2013 Malayalam film, KQ, along with Parvathy Omanakuttan, and was noticed in Su.. Su... Sudhi Vathmeekam and the tamil blockbuster Remo.
Srinivasan Chandrahasan was an Indian film producer and actor from Tamil Nadu.
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Kadaram Kondan is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Rajesh M. Selva and produced by Kamal Haasan. The film stars Vikram in the lead role and Akshara Haasan and Abi Hassan in supporting roles. It was shot between September 2018 and January 2019, and released on 19 July 2019, along with its Telugu-dubbed version Mr. KK. It is an official remake of the 2010 French film Point Blank. This film became a box-office hit.
Irai (transl. Prey) is an Indian Tamil-language crime thriller streaming television series produced as an Original for Aha Tamil, directed by Rajesh M. Selva. Produced by Radaan Mediaworks the series stars R. Sarathkumar in the lead role along with Nizhalgal Ravi, Abhishek Shankar, Sri Krishna Dayal and Gouri Nair. The series was based on the crime novel Birds of Prey written by Archana Sarat, and was initially announced with that same title. The series comprised six episodes and was released on Aha Tamil on 18 February 2022.