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Shaji Kailas

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Shaji Kailas
Shaji in 2022
Shaji in 2022
Born (1965-02-08) 8 February 1965 (age 59)[1]
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Occupations
Years active1989–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1996)​
Children3

Shaji Kailas (born 8 February 1965) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Malayalam cinema.[2] Shaji got a breakthrough with the comedy film Dr. Pasupathy (1990).[3]

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) and Valliettan (2000).[4]

Early and personal life

Shaji was born to Shivaraman Nair who worked as an executive engineer in P.W.D & Janakiyamma on 8 February 1965.[1]

He is married to actress Annie. They currently reside at Trivandrum, Kerala, India and have three sons Jagan, Sharon, and Rushin.[5]

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 an 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.[2][6] 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 scenes that pitted against an upcoming crime boss Ravishankar portrayed by Suresh Gopi against the ever-threatening Gowda brothers portrayed by Tiger Prabhakar & Babu Antony.[2]

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 extremely violent scenes. He also done some cinematography for action scenes 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 hero 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 role swept the box office and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. Scripted by Ranjith, this film completed 150 days in theatres. Just after the big success of Narasimham, again Shaji Kailas paired with Renjith, but this time it was Mammootty in the leading role. Valliettan, the Onam release of 2000 also successfully completed 150days at box office. Then 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 in the box office. In the year 2005 Shaji Kailas directed The Tiger, an investigative thriller starring Suresh Gopi. In 2006, Chinthamani Kolacase, a vigilante suspense thriller with Suresh Gopi in leading role and Baba Kalyani with Mohanlal released. Both were hits. However, his first film with Dileep, The Don, turned into a huge flop in 2006. The next film, Baba Kalyani, starring Mohanlal, was a moderate hit at box office which completed 75 days in theatres. But later, Shaji failed to find his rhythm. Time in 2007, Alibhai and Sound of Boot in 2008 was not up to the mark. In January 2010, Shaji Kailas directed Drona 2010, which turned out to be another fiasco. Beginning of 2011 showcased his attempt to reclaim his position within Malayalam industry with the sequel of yesteryear mega hit "August 1", 15 August 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 blockbusters The King and Commissioner. His next movie was Simhasanam with Prithviraj Sukumaran and Sai Kumar in the lead role. The movie was released in July 2012 and ends up with a huge disaster. After the consecutive flops Shaji Kailas took a break from direction.

2022: Resurgence

On 16 October 2019, it was announced that Shaji Kailas will be coming back from his hiatus with Kaduva starring Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead. Kaduva was released on 7 July 2022. The film received mixed to positive responses from critics. The film grossed around ₹8 crore on its opening day and emerged a commercial success. His next directorial project is Alone, starring Mohanlal in the lead role.[7]

Filmography

Director

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Language Notes
1989 News Malayalam Also story writer
1990 Sunday 7 PM Malayalam
1990 Dr. Pasupathy Malayalam
1991 Souhrudam Malayalam
1991 Kilukkampetti Malayalam Also story writer
1992 Thalasthanam Malayalam
1992 Neelakurukkan Malayalam
1993 Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans Malayalam
1993 Ekalavyan Malayalam
1993 Mafia Malayalam
1994 Commissioner Malayalam
1994 Rudraksham Malayalam
1995 The King Malayalam
1996 Mahathma Malayalam
1997 Asuravamsam Malayalam
1997 Aaram Thamburan Malayalam
1998 The Truth Malayalam
1999 F.I.R Malayalam
2000 Narasimham Malayalam
2000 Valliettan Malayalam
2001 Vaanchinathan Tamil
2002 Shivam Malayalam
2002 Thandavam Malayalam
2003 Vishnu Telugu
2004 Janaa Tamil
2004 Natturajavu Malayalam
2005 The Tiger Malayalam
2006 Chinthamani Kolacase Malayalam
2006 The Don Malayalam
2006 Baba Kalyani Malayalam
2007 Time Malayalam
2007 Alibhai Malayalam
2008 Sound of Boot Malayalam
2008 Ellam Avan Seyal Tamil Remake of Chinthamani Kolacase
2009 Red Chillies Malayalam
2009 Lalitham Hiranmayam of Kerala Cafe Malayalam Anthology film
2010 Drona 2010 Malayalam
2011 August 15 Malayalam
2012 The King and the Commissioner Malayalam Crossover spiritual sequel to The King and Commissioner
2012 Simhasanam Malayalam Also story writer
2012 Madirasi Malayalam
2013 Ginger Malayalam
2015 En Vazhi Thani Vazhi Tamil
2017 Vaigai Express Tamil
2022 Kaduva Malayalam
2022 Alone † Malayalam
2022 Kaappa † Malayalam
2023 Pink Police † Malayalam

Other credits

Year Title Credit Notes
1984 Thathamme Poocha Poocha Assistant director
1985 Naayakan Assistant director
1985 Pattabhishekam Assistant director
1986 Geetham Assistant director
1986 Snehamulla Simham Assistant director
1988 Padamudra Associate director
1989 News Story writer Also director
1991 Kilukkampetti Story writer Also director
1999 Ustaad Co-producer
2006 Baba Kalyani Also director
2012 Simhasanam Story writer Also director
2019 Jananayakan Judge Reality TV show on Amrita TV
2019 Thakkol Producer

Accolades

Filmfare Awards South

Asianet Film Awards

References

  1. ^ a b ദി കിംഗ്‌ മേക്കര്‍. mangalam.com (1 December 2012). Retrieved on 28 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b c The Hindu Net Desk (15 October 2019). "Prithviraj to team up again with Ajith's 'Jana' director Shaji Kailas". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
  3. ^ "Prithviraj to team up with director Shaji Kailas, shares poster of 'Kaduva'". The Week.
  4. ^ "Shaji Kailas is back after 6 years!". Archived from the original on 16 October 2019.
  5. ^ Mrs Shaji Kailas speaks. The New Indian Express. 16 May 2012.
  6. ^ Narayanan, Nirmal (25 July 2018). "Five Malayalam movies rejected by Mammootty which turned out to be blockbusters". www.ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Mohanlal starrer 'Alone' finishes its shoot in just 18 days! - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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