Contents
Rajesh Touchriver is a National award-winning film director. He is well-known for winning three National Awards for the Telugu film ‘Naa Bangaaru Talli’ (2013).
Wiki/Biography
Rajesh Touchriver was born on Monday, 6 March 1972 (age 47 years; as in 2019), in village Arakulam, Idukki District, Kerala. His zodiac sign is Pisces. He did his schooling from the Govt. High School in Moolamattom, Kerala. He completed his BTA in Direction from the University of Calicut, Kerala, and he also joined School of Drama, Thrissur, Kerala. Later, he got a scholarship from Charles Wallace India Trust to study in London from where he did Masters in Visual language, Scenography & Direction.
An Old Picture of Rajesh Touchriver
Family, Caste & Wife
Rajesh was born in a Malayali family. His father’s name is ‘Siva Sankaran Nair’ (a Kathakali Actor) and mother’s name is ‘Rukmini Amma.’ His brother is a PhD in Theatres, and his uncle ‘M R Sreedharan Nair,’ is a professional Kathakali dancer. He got married to the famous Indian social activist ‘Sunitha Krishnan.’
An Old Picture of Rajesh
Rajesh Touchriver with His Wife
Career
He worked with the National School of Drama, New Delhi in 1995. He had directed almost 30 plays in Malayalam, Telugu, and English till the year 1998. In 2002, he debuted with the Telugu movie ‘In the Name of Buddha.’ He has directed many feature films, short films, documentaries, music videos, and TV commercials, mostly based on the social issues of the Indian society. Some of the feature films directed by him include- 10-The Strangers (2005), Alex-The Blue Fox (2005), Naa Bangaaru Talli (2013), and Patnagarh (2019).
Rajesh Touchriver’s Film- In the Name of Buddha
Controversy
He was accused of inappropriate behaviour by the actress ‘Revathy Sampath,’ in the #MeToo India campaign.
Controversial Post Against Rajesh Touchriver
Awards & Honours
The Indie Gathering International Film Festival, Ohio, USA
- 2017: Best Foreign Feature Film for RAKTHAM (The Blood)
- 2017: Best Cinematography for Ramathulasi RAKTHAM (The Blood)
- 2017: Best Overall Feature, Peoples Choice for RAKTHAM (The Blood)
National Film Awards
- 2013: Best Feature Film in Telugu for Na Bangaaru Talli
- 2013: Best Music Direction (Background Score) to Shantanu Moitra for Na Bangaaru Talli (2013)
- 2013: Special Mention – Actress Anjali Patil for Na Bangaaru Talli
Nandi Awards (Govt of Andhra Pradesh State Awards)
- 2013: Best Feature Film for Na Bangaaru Talli
- 2013: Best Actress (Anjali Patil) for Na Bangaaru Talli
- 2013: Special Mention (Actor Siddique) for Na Bangaaru Talli
International Awards
- 2001: The Charles Wallace India Trust Award
- 2003: Best foreign film Award Beverly Hills International Film Festival
- 2003: Best Film Award New port Beach International Film Festival
- 2003: Best Film Award Wine country International Film Festival
- 2006: Best Foreign Documentary film Award Action Cut International Film Festival
- 2007: Best Editing Award Festival De Cine De Granada
- 2008: Best Documentary Film Award Hyderabad International Film Festival
- 2013: Best Feature Film Award Trinity International Film Festival
- 2013: Award of Excellence from IFFCRM, Indonesia
- 2013: Filmmaker of the Year from IFFCRM, Jakarta, Indonesia
Facts/Trivia
- He is a trained Kathakali dancer and trained in Kalaripayattu (martial art form).
- When a reporter asked about his unique surname he said-
It was because of the distributors that I changed my name. If I were a known director in India, the problem would not have arisen. This is my first film and it is a British production. Distributors are not very interested in a British film directed by an unknown Asian. So, they asked me to change my surname to something that is easier to pronounce! Finally, it was the producer who came with Touchriver, the English translation of Thodupuzha (a place in Kerala)!”
- He appeared on the Karmaveer episode (18 October 2019) of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 (2019) along with his wife Sunitha Krishnan.
Rajesh Touchriver in KBC