Selvaraghavan
| Selvaraghavan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Selvaraghavan Kasthuri Raja 5 March 1975 Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Other names | Sri Raghava |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse(s) |
|
| Relatives | See Kasthuri Raja family |
Selvaraghavan (credited as Sri Raghava in Telugu cinema) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has directed predominantly Tamil language films. After writing the script for his father's directorial venture Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002), Selvaraghavan went on to make a series of romantic drama films with Kadhal Kondein (2003) and 7G Rainbow Colony (2004) before also venturing to make coming-of-age films Pudhupettai (2006) and Mayakkam Enna (2011). He has also ventured into making science fiction and fantasy films, such as depicting a fantasy Chola kingdom in Aayirathil Oruvan (2010) and a parallel universe in Irandam Ulagam (2013).
Selvaraghavan born in a Tamil family and the son of film director Kasthuri Raja, elder brother of actor Dhanush and has two sisters, who are both doctors. Afflicted with Retinoblastoma, a cancer of the retina, an eye had to be removed so the cancer wouldn’t spread and Selvaraghavan makes public appearances wearing glasses. On 15 December 2006, he married actress Sonia Agarwal, with whom he had previously worked with on three films. After their two-year marriage Sonia Agarwal and Selvaraghavan filed for divorce with mutual consent in a Chennai family court on 9 August 2009. Selvaraghavan married Gitanjali Raman on 19 June 2011, daughter of former Advocate General of Tamil Nadu P. S. Raman She had worked as his assistant director in Mayakkam Enna. The couple have a daughter named Leelavathi born on 19 January 2012. The couple then also had a son born on 7 October 2013 named Omkar
Despite coming from a family from the film industry, Selvaraghavan and his sisters were persuaded by his parents to seek a career with an academic background. He subsequently went on to attain a BEng. in Mechanical Engineering, though his exam performances were unremarkable and he acknowledges he was "never going to become one of the best". During his degree, he engaged part-time in different career paths in a process he describes as "soul-searching", before finding satisfaction as a writer. After he graduated in 1997, he approached producers to fund his screenplay writing but was unsuccessful and often remained at home as unemployed graduate. His family faced financial pressures in the early 2000s with his father was out of work, and subsequently they decided to put their remaining earnings into a venture titled Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002), which Selvaraghavan had written. Featuring his brother Dhanush in his first role, alongside Sherin and Abhinay, the film told the coming-of-age story of six high school students and featured a hit soundtrack by Yuvan Shankar Raja. After taking a small opening, the film began to get teen audiences to cinema halls for its adolescent themes, while also being publicized in quarters as "soft porn" film. It subsequently went on to become a sleeper hit and won positive reviews from critics for breaking the stereotypes of Tamil films. Post-release, Selvaraghavan stated that he had also directed the film but was forced to credit his more established film-maker father Kasthuri Raja as the director, in order to help the project find a distributor.
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