# Lenin Rajendran

Lenin Rajendran was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked in Malayalam cinema. He served as the Chairman of Kerala State Film Development Corporation from 2016 to January 2019.

## Career

Beginning his film-making career as an assistant to director P. A. Backer, Rajendran made his directorial debut with Venal (1982). From his first film to his latest one, Edavappathy (2016), Rajendran has been consistent with the quality of his films, not surrendering to market forces even while using the form and stars of popular cinema.
An active member of the Communist party, Rajendran at times integrated his political orientation into his screen work: his 1985 film Meenamasithile Sooryan was about the anti-feudal upheaval of the 1940s in Kerala from a Communist viewpoint. He contested against Sri. K.R Narayanan in 1991 Loksabha election. He was defeated in the election which was held amidst the emotional backdrop after Rajiv Gandhi's death.
Swathi Thirunal (1987), a period film was a biographical work of a 19th-century king of Travancore, better known as a musical composer. While Daivathinte Vikrithikal (1992) was the cinematic adaptation of M. Mukundan's novel of the same name, Kulam (1997) was a loose adaptation of C. V. Raman Pillai's historical novel Marthandavarma, Mazha (2001) was adapted from Madhavikutty's Nashtapetta Neelambhari. One of his other films, Anyar (2003) deals with the hot topic of communal polarisation in Kerala.
His other films are Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla (1983), Puravrutham (1988), and Vachanam (1989).

## Death

Lenin Rajendran died on 14 January 2019 in Apollo Hospital Chennai after a liver transplant, at the age of 67. At the time of his death, he was continuing as the Chairman of the Kerala Film Development Corporation. His dead body was taken back to his native place, and was cremated with full state honours. He is survived by his wife Dr. Ramani, son Gouthaman and daughter Parvathi.

## Awards

Kerala State Film Awards
* 1987 - Kerala State Film Award (Special Jury Award): Swathi Thirunal (film)
* 1992 - Kerala State Film Award for Best Film: Daivathinte Vikrithikal
* 1996 - Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value : Kulam
* 2006 - Kerala State Film Award for Best Director : Rathri Mazha
* 2010 - Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Film:Makaramanju
International Film Festival of Kerala
* 2010 - FIPRESCI Prize for Best Malayalam Film - Makaramanju
Kerala State Television Awards
* 1999 - Second Best Teleserial: Balyakalasmaranakal
* 2011 - Best Documentary (Biography): Kaviyoor Revamma

### Kerala Film Critics Award

* 2003 - Special Jury Award : Anyar
* 2006 - Second Best Film : Rathri Mazha
* 2010 - Second Best Film : Makaramanju
* 2015 - Best Screenplay : Edavappathy

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Cast |
| 1981 | Venal | Sukumaran, Jalaja |
| 1982 | Chillu | Venu Nagavalli, Shanthi Krishna |
| 1983 | Prem Nazirine Kanmanilla | Prem Nazir, Sreenivasan, Maniyanpilla Raju, Vijay Menon |
| 1985 | Meenamasathile Sooryan | Bharath Gopi, Venu Nagavalli, Vijay Menon, Murali, Ravi, Shobana |
| 1985 | Mazhakkala Megham | |
| 1987 | Swathi Thirunal | Anant Nag, Ranjini |
| 1988 | Puravrutham | Om Puri |
| 1989 | Vachanam | Suresh Gopi, Jayaram, Sithara, Sreevidya, Thilakan, Mamukkoya |
| 1992 | Daivathinte Vikrithikal | Raghuvaran, Srividya, Thilakan, Vineeth, Sudheesh, Siddique |
| 1997 | Kulam | Suresh Gopi, Bhanupriya, Vijayaraghavan |
| 2000 | Mazha | Biju Menon, Lal, Samyuktha Varma, Jagathy Sreekumar, Thilakan, Urmila Unni |
| 2003 | Anyar | Jyothirmayi, Biju Menon, Lal, Siddique |
| 2007 | Rathri Mazha | Vineeth, Meera Jasmine, Manoj K. Jayan, Biju Menon, Lalu Alex, Cochin Haneefa |
| 2010 | Makaramanju | Santosh Sivan, Karthika Nair, Nithya Menon, Lakshmi Sarma |
| 2016 | Edavappathy | Utthara Unni, Manisha Koirala, Siddhartha |
| 2017 | Crossroad Segment - Pinpe Nadappaval | Anjana Chandran, Joy Mathew, Sagar |