Priyadarshan

Indian filmmaker and scriptwriter Priyadarshan was born on January 30, 1957, and he primarily works in Malayalam and Hindi movies. His early Malayalam movies were arguably the first in India to use beautiful colour grading, sharp sound, and excellent dubbing.

With a professional life spanning the 1980s and 1990s, Priyadarshan commenced his professional life in Malayalam film in the early 1980s. He switched to Bollywood, or Hindi-language film, in the beginning of the 2000s and continues to work there for the course of the decade. He has won the National Award three times in his career.

He switched his focus towards the Malayalam film industry and said in 2013 that Rangrezz would be his last major Hindi feature for a while. His most well-known film projects include Thenmavin Kombath, Kaalapaani, Chandralekha, Abhimanyu, Mithunam, Thalavattam, Vellanakalude Nadu, Chithram, Vandanam, & Kilukkam.

He has become known for interpreting Malayalam movies into Hindi, including his own movies and other movies. Some of the most renowned Bollywood films in this genre include Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Bhagam Bhag, Hungama, Hulchul, Garam Masala, Hera Pheri, and Chup Chup Ke.

Early Life

Priyadarshan attended school at Government Model School in Trivandrum for his primary schooling, and he graduated from University College Trivandrum with a Master of Arts in Philosophy. Priyadarshan's devotion to reading was ignited by the fact that his father served as a college librarian. While in college, he started drafting short stories and illustrates for All India Radio.

He was a committed reader all through his adolescent years. The films made by the filmmaker P. Venu had a lasting effect on him. Mohanlal, M. G. Sreekumar, Sanal Kumar, Suresh Kumar, Jagadish, Maniyanpilla Raju, and Ashok Kumar were among his pals back then. Then Mohanlal started acting in films.

Seeking possibilities for the movie industry, his friends trailed him to Chennai. Priyadarshan started drafting screenplays, some of which proved effective, with the support of Mohanlal, who gave him lots of chances to work as a supporting screenwriter in a few movies. He ultimately decided to return to Kerala.

Career in Filmmaking

Priyadarshan is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has been working within the industry for forty years. He is a filmmaker of more than 95 films in the Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu languages of India.

1984-1987

When Priyadarshan, his close companions Suresh Kumar and Sanal Kumar, intended to make a movie in 1984, Shankar-the popular hero-helped him get funding from prominent movie financier Thiruvenkadam. Alongside Shankar, Mohanlal-who was already well-known-was chosen to be the alternate hero. Thus, Poochakkoru Mookkuthi, a surprising break in 1984, marked Priyadarshan's filmmaking debut. This low-budget comedy with slapstick characters performed in Keralan cinemas for 100 days before concluding its successful run.

After featuring in the popular humorous slapstick film Odaruthammava Aalariyam, Priyan moved on to direct the suspenseful film Parayanumvayya Parayathirikkanumvayya featuring Mammootty and Shankar, and Onnanam Kunnil Oradi Kunnil. Then, in his debut movie without Mohanlal, he directed Punnaram Cholli Cholli. His prosperous record maintained with Boeing Boeing and Aram + Aram = Kinnaram, the two of which achieved enormous commercial success.

The film Rakkuyilin Ragasadassil, which he later produced, received criticism for being a wrong choice for the major roles of Mammootty and Suhasini, despite the film's popularity and its popular songs. The original script called for Shankar and Menaka. However, his reliability was emphasised by the hits he made with Ayalvasi Oru Daridravasi, Dheem Tharikida Thom, and Mazha Peyyunnu Maddalam Kottunnu. After directing the immensely successful sad family film Thalavattam, Priyan gained recognition as a serious filmmaker. His career in Malayalam remained with the success of Cheppu, whereas the Tamil film Chinnamanikkuyile was never released.

1988-1998

Priyadarshan's career marked a turning point in 1988. With Mohanlal playing the lead role, he filmed Vellanakalude Nadu, which centred on a screenplay by Sreenivasan. This movie focused on social issues such as land mafia and corruption. In the end, this movie turned out to be Priyadarshan's greatest hit up till that point. Then, after lasting 150 days in cinemas, came Aryan, an action-packed movie based on T. Damodaran's plot about the Mumbai mafia.

In 1988, Priyadarshan's greatest success to date, Chithram, was also released. Before his own picture Kilukkam smashed records in 1991, Chithram spent 366 days in cinemas and made new records for collecting.

All five releases of 1988 were finished by Oru Muthassi Katha and Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu. But in 1990, he struggled to achieve success with Akkare Akkare Akkare and Kadathanadan Ambadi. Kilukkam starring Mohanlal, Jagathi Sreekumar, and Revathi was released by Priyadarshan in 1991.

After breaking several box office records, Kilukkam remains recognized as one of the finest Priyadarshan-Mohanlal productions. His later three movies, Thenmavin Kombathu (1994), Advaitham (1992), and Abhimanyu (1991), all ran in movie theatres for 100 days without problem. Two films that did well in theatres were Midhunam (1993) and Minnaram (1994).

At the same time, Shri. M. Karunanidhi sent an invitation to Priyadarshan to helm a movie for his son's producing company. Consequently, Priyadarshan debuted in Tamil with Gopura Vasalile. He produced the Telugu film Nirnayam in 1991 when Nagarjuna asked him to convert his Malayalam film Vandanam into Telugu. Priyadarshan debuted in Bollywood in 1992 with Muskurahat, a film which was a failed replica of his own Malayalam feature Kilukkam.

In 1993, he resurfaced in Hindi cinema with Gardish, an A. K. Lohithadas version of the Malayalam film Kireedom. The movie was an immense smash, and Priyadarshan got access to Bollywood due to his skillful addition of elements needed by Hindi spectators. Priyadarshan directed Gandeevam, featuring Balakrishna, in 1994. It is his second and final Telugu film to date.

In 1996, he also received the task of directing the Miss World competition, that took place in Bangalore, gaining him widespread recognition. An epic historical picture centered on the Indian battle for independence, written by T. Damodaran, was Priyadarshan's ideal project when he came up with it in 1996. Priyadarshan's career reached new heights with Kalapani, which included superb music by Ilaiyaraja and prominent actors Mohanlal, Tabu, Prabhu, and Amrish Puri.

Concurrently dubbed and published in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, this Malayalam movie also found distribution in other languages. For the first stage of his career, Kalapani won him many honors. Two huge blockbusters that Priyadarshan produced in 1997 were the Malayalam film Chandralekha and the Hindi film Virasat, which was a remake of Bharathan's Tamil classic Thevar Magan.

Priyadarshan became well-known in Hindi films because of the popularity of Virasat. Priyadarshan directed three films in 1998: Kabhi na Kabhi, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, which was based on the plot of Fazil's Aniyathi Pravu, and Saat Rang Ke Sapne, which was a version of his own Thenmavin Kombathu. But all three films were a box office failure.

In 1999, after an extended break, Priyadarshan met Mammooty for Megham. Chiranjeevi and Nagarjuna, two renowned Telugu actors, sent approaches to Priyadarshan to direct them around this time; yet, he turned them down and went on to his next Hindi movie.

2000-2016

When Hera Pheri premiered in Hindi in 2000, Priyadarshan's career in Bollywood was, for once, altered. The 1989 Malayalam movie Ramjirao Speaking was turned into a successful movie called Hera Pheri, which did quite well at the box office. This movie, which starred Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Sunil Shetty, and Akshay Kumar, is today regarded as a turning point in Hindi cinema history.

The Priyadarshan-Akshay Kumar duo was also born out of this movie and went on to generate multiple awards in the following years. Paresh Rawal followed Hera Pheri as a regular appearance in Priyadarshan films. A number of Hindi films, notably Kyon Ki, Hungama, Hulchul, Garam Masala, Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar, and Hungama, followed after this one. Raakilipattu (Snegithiye in Tamil), a 2000 Malayalam-Tamil bilingual film starring Tabu and Jyothika, was written and directed by Priyadarshan and was based on the innovative Marathi film Bindhaast, which had gotten favorable evaluations from critics.

Originally, both versions were intended to be issued at the same time. However, for reasons that are still unclear, the Tamil version was published first, and the Malayalam version was delayed. Only seven years later, in 2007, both the Malayalam and the Hindi-dubbed versions of the film were released.

Originally set to start production in 2001, Priyadarshan's English-language epic historical thriller The Last Revolutionary, created by 20th Century Fox, was put on hold for unspecified reasons. The movie centers on the story of Indian liberation warrior Chandrasekhar Azad. The big film Anbe Sivam, starring Kamal Haasan, was being worked on around this time.

Kamal Haasan asked Priyadarshan to direct the movie after he had finished writing the screenplay. Preproduction got underway. However, Priyadarshan dropped out of the movie before the first date due to disagreements between the director and the actor. The crew's schedules ran out as a result of this unexpected delay. Therefore, the producers promptly hired Sundar C to helm the movie after persuading Kamal Haasan.

When Priyadarshan directed the comedy Kakkakuyil in 2001, he revived the Mohanlal and Mukesh partnership that had been so successful in the 1980s and 1990s. At the box office, the movie was a big success. Subsequently, he focused more on Bollywood when his two other Malayalam films, Kilichundan Mampazham and Vettam, which hit theatres in 2003 and 2004, accordingly, had mediocre box office results.

However, Priyadarshan was still having success in Hindi with shows like Chup Chup Ke, Bhagam Bhag, Malamaal Weekly, Dhol, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, De Dana Dan, and Mere Baap Pehle Aap. Unfortunately, his later motion pictures, Tezz, Aakrosh, Khatta Meeta, Billu, and Bumm Bumm Bole, fell short of the hype. Rangrezz was a box office failure in 2013.

Concurrently, Priyadarshan took the world by surprise with his unique film Kanchivaram, which followed the narrative of the Kanchipuram weavers. The film's protagonist, Prakash Raj, was named the 2008 National Film Award winner for Best Actor. Additionally, Kanchivaram took home awards from a number of film festivals.

Back to Malayalam cinema, Priyadarshan directed Arabeem Ottakom P. Madhavan Nayarum, featuring Mohanlal in Oru Marubhoomikkadha. Box office performance was low for the 2014 movie Aamayum Muyalum and the 2013 film Geethaanjali, which starred Mohanlal as Dr. Sunny Joseph.

Late in 2015, Mohanlal was cast in the main role of a Malayalam criminal thriller film directed by Priyadarshan. In December 2015, the company's production was officially verified and given the name Oppam. The filmmaker began production on the film before another high-profile project starring Mohanlal, which was interrupted because of bad weather in Russia, the location of the film's shooting.

A young writer named Govind Vijayan's narrative became the inspiration for Priyadarshan's script and language. Within 16 days of its release, the film smashed multiple records and became the highest-revenue Malayalam movie of the year after receiving favorable reviews and going on to become a blockbuster.

2018-Present

He started initial production work in early 2018 on Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham, a massive era film in Malayalam that unfolds in the 16th century. The film, which stars Mohanlal in the lead role, centers on the combat experiences of naval commander Kunjali Marakkar IV, a member of the Zamorin clan from Calicut. For more than a century, the Kunjali Marakkars formed the first naval defense of the Indian coast, defending Calicut against Portuguese attack.

Ultimately, the movie came out on December 2, 2021. Critics poorly regarded it, and it did not do well at the box office. Hungama 2, a spiritual sequel to the filmmaker's 2003 Hindi film Hungama, premiered immediately on Disney+ Hotstar on July 23, 2021, before Marakkar's official release. The film got unfavorable reviews. Priyadarshan's original 1994 Malayalam film Minnaram serves as an ambiguous inspiration for the movie.

He was the producer and director of the 2023 Malayalam film Corona Papers, which featured Shane Nigam. The movie was a sanctioned reconsideration of the Tamil film 8 Thottakkal, which had some influences on the 1949 Japanese film Stray Dog. The movie received favorable reviews at its April 6, 2023 release and did well at the box office. Afterward, on July 29, 2023, JioCinema released the direct-to-video Tamil film Appatha, which he produced and stars Urvashi in the main role.

Additional Work

In addition, Priyadarshan has directed several commercial films. His ads for Coca-Cola, American Express, Nokia, Parker Pens, Asian Paints, Kinley, and Max New York Life Insurance are some of the most well-known.

Personal Life

On December 13, 1990, he tied the knot to actress Lissy. Actress Kalyani and actor Sidharth are the couple's children; they were divorced in 2016.

Awards and Honours

Priyadarshan has received acclaim for his films from both the State and Federal governments. He has been chosen three times for the national award. At the 2007 National Film Awards, his unique picture Kanchivaram received the award for best feature film. He also won a national award for Kanchivaram as an outstanding feature film producer. His Malayalam time massive film Kaalapani, which featured Mohanlal, Tabu, Prabhu, and Amrish Puri, started a narrative of freedom fighters confined in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It won four National Film Awards, which include prizes for Santosh Sivan's cinematography and Sabu Cyril's art direction. Additional languages, including Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, were released with the dubbing of the movie. Upon receiving the National Award for Best Director, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham was awarded.