M. Rajesh | |
|---|---|
 M Rajesh atBrother Pooja | |
| Born | (1975-08-24)24 August 1975 (age 50) Nagercoil,Tamil Nadu, India |
| Alma mater | National Engineering College,Kovilpatti |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,screenwriter |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse | Shakthi |
Muthukumarasamy Rajesh (born 24 August 1975) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, working primarily in theTamil film industry. Known for makingromantic comedy films, he made his directorial debut withSiva Manasula Sakthi in 2009 and followed it up withBoss Engira Bhaskaran (2010) andOru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012); all three films emerged very successful at the box office. This was followed by a career setback, as his subsequent films were poorly received and became box office failures.
Rajesh was born inNagercoil.[1] After studying engineering atNational Engineering College inKovilpatti, he worked as an IT professional inMumbai for six months before deciding to pursue a career in film.[2]
Rajesh worked with the production unitCosmic Blues, and as an assistant on many short films and advertisement films for 1.5 years before shifting toChennai. He began his feature film career as an assistant director underAmeer Sultan inMounam Pesiyadhe (2002) and later assistedS. A. Chandrasekhar on a few films includingSukran (2005) andNenjirukkum Varai (2006). After deciding to turn director, Rajesh opted against imitating Ameer or Chandrasekhar's directing styles but wanted his own style that would appeal to youngsters, and wrote the script ofSiva Manasula Sakthi (2009).[2][3] The film became a commercial success, as did his next two directorial ventures,Boss Engira Bhaskaran (2010) andOru Kal Oru Kannadi (2012). All three films were described bySify as having reinvented "the trend of light-hearted comedy entertainers without big storylines".[4] Rajesh later wrote the dialogues forVaruthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013), also a success.[5]
However, his subsequent directorial venturesAll in All Azhagu Raja (2013),Vasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga (2015),[4]Kadavul Irukaan Kumaru (2016), andMr. Local (2019) became box-office failures.[6][7] By the time ofVasuvum Saravananum Onna Padichavanga's release, he was described bySify as having lost his "Midas touch", and the website said he "should work on something out of the box to taste the much needed success".[4] His next venture,Vanakkam Da Mappilei, premiered onSun NXT in 2021.[8] In 2022, Rajesh directed "Mirrage", an episode of the anthology thriller seriesVictim, deviating from his usual comedy films.[9] He returned to film withBrother, released in 2024.[10]
Rajesh's films have been heavily criticized for seemingly glorifying stalking, drinking and degrading women. Ashutosh Mohan wrote forFilm Companion that Rajesh's initial films appeared harmless: "Why shouldn't wastrels get the good girls? It stopped being funny fromAll in All Azhaguraja, when it became clear that misogyny, more than comedy, was really Rajesh's thing". Mohan felt the lead characters in Rajesh's films are "paragons of unproductivity" and excel in stalking, "which somehow seems to help them get girls who are otherwise sensible and independent" and lamented that these characterestics may have influenced the lead characters in films not directed by Rajesh, such asVaruthapadatha Valibar Sangam (2013),Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal (2014) andNannbenda (2015). Though Rajesh initially saidMr. Local would not feature any drinking or smoking scene, the film received criticism because of its toxic treatment of the female lead character, body shaming, shaming of transgender people and glorifying other activities not considered socially proper.[11][12]
Rajesh is married to Shakthi, whom he met while working as an assistant under Chandrashekhar.[2] Rajesh's father died in 2010.[13]
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 2013 | Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam |
| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Victim | SonyLIV | Anthology series; episode: "Mirrage" as director |
| 2023 | MY3 | Disney+ Hotstar | as director[14] |
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| Santhanam |  | | | | | ||||
| Arya | (cameo) | | (cameo) | | |||||
| Jiiva | | (cameo) | (cameo) | ||||||
| M. S. Bhaskar | | | | | |||||
| Mahanadi Shankar | | | | ||||||
| Vivek Harshan | | | | | |||||
| Sakthi Saravanan | | | | | | |