Rajiv Menon returns to the director’s chair
Ace cinematographer Rajiv Menon returns to the director’s chair after a long gap of 15 years. The untitled flick marks his third directorial venture and will be made in Tamil. Interestingly, Rajiv has roped in AR Rahman to compose the music and Rahman’s nephew and composer GV Prakash Kumar to play the lead role. The movie thus brings together the nephew as an actor and uncle as composer for the first time.
“This will be a very important film for all three stars. Director Rajeev Menon has come up with this script after doing extensive research. Although it is a research-based script, it will also be a thorough commercial entertainer,” a source close to the director quoted saying. “Rajiv narrated the script to Rahman, and he was impressed with it. Both Rahman and GV recently signed on the dotted lines, and the shoot will start in two months’ time,” says the source to TOI.
Reports suggest that Rajiv Menon has spent almost three years preparing the script, which demanded enormous research. Rajiv holds the reputation as one the best cinematographers in India with his collaborations with legendary directors like Mani Ratnam, Shyam Benegal and Girish Karnad. Rajiv cranked the camera for three Mani Ratnam flicks, Bombay, Guru and Kadal, and all of them earned him widespread critical acclaim.
His forayed into directing movies with the 1997 flick Minsara Kanavu, which featured Arvind Swami, Prabu Deva and Kajole in the lead roles. The movie was a commercial success and also bagged four National Awards. His second directorial venture was the star studded Kandu Kondein Kandu Kondein in 2000. The movie had Mammootty, Ajith, Abbas, Aiswarya Rai, and Tabu in the lead roles and declared as a super hit. The movie also earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director.
Rajiv is a familiar face in Mollywood with his popular cameo in Fazil’s Harikrishnans. His character’s dubious death leads the heroes Mohanlal and Mammootty to be close with the leading lady Juhi Chawla and unearth the mystery behind the death. The movie and his cameo went on to become a huge hit, but Rajiv kept his distance from acting since then. Later, he appeared in another cameo in his movie Minsara Kanavu.
On the other hand, GV Prakash Kumar, who overcame the slow phase of his acting career, which was filled with cameos with the lead role in 2015 flick Trisha Illana Nayanthara. The movie went on to become a silent hit and projected him as a potential hero. The actor has signed three movies, Enakku Innoru Per Irukku, Ketta Payanda Indha Karthi and Kadavul Irukkuran Kumaru back-to-back after the positive reviews for Trisha Illana Nayanthara.
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