Renji Panicker

Renji Panicker (born 23 September 1960^[1]) is an Indian actor, scriptwriter, director, film producer, and journalist best known for his Malayalam films. He made his debut as a director with Bharatchandran IPS in 2005.^[2]

Renji Panicker
Born	(1960-09-23) 23 September 1960 (age 64) Nedumudi, Kerala, India
Other names	Renji
Occupations	Film director screenwriter singer lyricist actor film producer poet journalist
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Aneeta Marium Thomas
Children	2

Early life

He did B.Com from SD College, Alappuzha and certificate in Journalism from Press Club, Thiruvananthapuram. He earned MCJ from Kerala University.^[3]

Career

Panicker began his career as a journalist. He started off as a reporter for magazines and publications. During an interview, while working for Chithrabhumi, a film magazine, he met director Shaji Kailas. Renji scripted several films for Shaji Kailas, including Dr. Pasupathy (1990), Thalastaanam (1992), Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans (1993), Ekalavyan (1993), Mafia (1993), Commissioner (1994), and The King (1995). The Renji Panicker-Shaji Kailas team elevated Suresh Gopi into a bankable lead actor during the early 1990s. He is known for his collaboration with director Joshiy, which included the films Lelam (1997) and Pathram (1999). He became a film director and directed two films. He is one of the managing directors of the Malayalam newspaper Metrovaartha.^{[citation needed]}

Renji has taken several cameo roles in his own films. However, he gained popularity as an actor for his role in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014). He acted in Njaan (2014), Premam (2015), Jacobinte Swargarajyam (2016), Thoppil Joppan (2016), Alamara (2017), Godha (2017) and Bhayanakam (2018).^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

Renji Panicker was married to Aneeta Mariam Thomas, his classmate at Kerala University.^{[citation needed]} Aneeta died on 10 March 2019, suffering from a kidney ailment. They have twin sons, Nithin and Nikhil, and were living in Alappuzha before moving to Kochi.^[4]

Film career

While interviewing director Shaji Kailas, for a film magazine in 1990, he was impressed by Renji's language and asked him to do a script for him. Renji, who was an active politician since his college days tried out a political satire, Dr. Pasupathy, that turned out to be a hit. But the success of his debut film failed to bring recognition. His next venture Akashakottayile Sulthan, in 1991, directed by Jayaraj, with Sreenivasan in the main role, bombed. This made Renji to rethink film as a career. Upon Kailas' insistence, Renji made another attempt in 1992. Thalastaanam, revolving around campus politics was a hit and marked the beginning of the Shaji-Renji combination.^{[citation needed]}

In the year 1993, Renji penned Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans. Directed by Kailas, this film was a turning point in the life of Jagadish, who was until then slotted into comic roles.^{[citation needed]} Jagadish played the role of a common man who overnight becomes the home minister of the state. Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans completed 150 days in theatres, establishing Renji Panicker as one of the leading script writers in Malayalam cinema. Next was Ekalavyan, released in May 1993. Directed by Kailas, Ekalavyan was an action thriller revolving around the unholy nexus of drug mafia-godmen and politicians. Appearing in the lead role of a police officer, Suresh Gopi established himself as the next star of Malayalam cinema. Ekalavyan completed 150 days in most theatres. Mafia then revolved around Bangalore underworld. Directed by Kailas with Gopi as hero, it was released in 1993, making Renji the most expensive script-writer in Malayalam film.^[5]

In 1994, Kailas/Panicker created Commissioner, a police film, which completed a run of 200 days in theatres. Gopi appeared in the title role and the film became the biggest grosser of the year. Shaji/Renji rejoined in 1995, casting Mammootty as the hero of The King, which was released in the end of 1995 was successful. Thereafter the duo parted ways.^[6]

Renji, after a long time wrote a script for director Joshi in 1997.^{[citation needed]} Lelam, another action thriller with Gopi as the hero was again a hit. The same team brought out Pathram the next year. Revolving around print media and the politics surrounding it, this flick is best remembered for dialog. The continuous run of hits came to an end in 2001. Renji's combination with Joshi, Dubai bombed. This was followed by Praja, the first time Mohanlal appeared in a Renji film and it completed 100 days in theatres.^{[citation needed]} The back to back set backs forced Renji to take a break for three years. In 2005, he followed with Bharatchandran IPS the sequel of Commissioner, released in 1994. Bharatchandran IPS was his directorial debut. He also co-produced this film. This film crossed 100-day run in all major centres and gave a rebirth to Gopi. Renji's second directorial attempt was Roudram, released in 2008, with Mammootty in the main role, Another police story, this film was a box-office success.^[7] Renji's next project was The King & the Commissioner in which Mammootty and Gopi played the lead roles, Joseph Alex I.A.S. and Bharathchandran I.P.S., taken from the films The King and Commissioner. It was directed by Kailas. This film had many expectations, as Mammootty and Gopi were reuniting after many years as were Kailas and Panicker.,^[8] it becomes a blockbuster and commercial success.^{[citation needed]}

Plots and style

Panicker's dialogue in Lelam is based on a real-life character while the jingoistic and valorised protagonists in Commissioner (1994) and The King (1995) are considered timeless classics for Malayalam cinema.^[9]

Filmography

As an actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Thalastaanam	Politician
1993	Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans	Politician
	Ekalavyan	Airport passenger
	Mafia	Excise/Home Minister Venkidappa
1994	Commissioner	Journalist
2014	Pakida	Nandakumar
	Ohm Shanthi Oshaana	Dr. Mathew Devasya
	Money Ratnam	Isaac
	Munnariyippu	Mohan Das
	Njaan	Kuttysankaran
	Cousins	Doctor	Cameo
2015	Picket 43	C.O Vinay Chandran
	Aadu	Thomas Paappan & Varkey Pappan
	Ennum Eppozhum	CEO of GM Builders
	Ayal Njanalla	K.P.K. Menon
	Haram	Isha's Father
	Loham	Albert Alex	[10]
	Premam	David Kalapparambath, George's father	Cameo
	Acha Dhin	Home minister Thomas Chacko
	Njan Samvidhanam Cheyyum	Jury committee member
	Jamna Pyari	Sridharan
	Rajamma @ Yahoo	Mayor Abraham Pothen
	Punchirikku Parasparam	Person reading newspaper	short film
	Anarkali	Pappan
	Charlie	Panicker Doctor	Guest appearance
2016	Pavada	Paul Scaria
	Jacobinte Swargarajyam	Jacob
	Valleem Thetti Pulleem Thetti	Madhavan
	Pa Va	Thampuran Johnny
	Mohavalayam
	Angane Thanne Nethave Anchettannam Pinnale	Zachariya
	Welcome to Central Jail	Gopinath
	Oru Muthassi Gadha	Dr. Mathew / Mathai
	Oppam	Padmakumar P, IPS officer
	Thoppil Joppan	Fr. James Anakattil
	Aanandam	Diya's father	Cameo
	Campus Diary	Koya Saahib
	Ore Mukham	Prakashan
2017	Georgettan's Pooram	Fr. Mathews Vadakkan
	Kadamkatha	Sreekumar
	Samarpanam
	Gemini	Dr. Gokul
	Alamara	Pavithran
	1971: Beyond Borders	Janardanan
	Sakhavu	Kuriyachan	Cameo
	Godha	Captain
	Clint	Writer V K Nambiar
	Puthan Panam	Iqbal Rowther	Cameo
	Ramaleela	V. G. Madhavan
	Viswasapoorvam Mansoor	Kalathil Haji
	Oru Cinemakkaran	Fr. Mathew
	Role Models	Gautham's father
	Villain	Commissioner Sreenivasan
	Solo	Thomas Zachariah	Segment: World of Trilok
	Masterpiece	Edward Livingstone	Cameo
2018	Kadha Paranja Kadha
	Captain	Coach Jafer
	Aami	S. K. Nair
	Krishnam	Dr. Sunil
	Vallikkudilile Vellakkaran	Chief Guest
	Kinar
	Abrahaminte Santhathikal	SP Shahul Hameed
	Kuttanadan Marpappa	John's father	Photo presence
	Naam	Fr. James Kottayil
	Bhayanakam	Postman – disabled in World War I
	Drama	Kunjachan
	Ente Ummante Peru	Mohammed Hydarali Mehfil	Photo appearance and voice
2019	Vijay Superum Pournamiyum	Venugopal
	Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel	DGP K. E. Eappan
	Margamkali	Urmila's father
	Sakalakalashala
	Thelivu	Ramesh Kumar
	Roudram 2018	Narayanan
	Kalikoottukkar
	Pengalila	Koshy Mathew
	Athiran	Jayanarayana Varma
	Oru Yamandan Premakadha	Advocate John Kombanayil
	Ningal Camera Nireekshanathinlannu
	Aniyan Kunjinum Thannalayathu
	Mohabbathin Kunjabdulla	Thangal
	Sachin	Ramachandran
	Love Action Drama	Swathi's father
	Ulta
	Thakkol	Clement
2020	Kalamandalam Hyderali	Kalamandalam Hyderali
	Forensic	Retd. SP Abdul Wahab IPS
2021	Backpackers	Rawther
	Muddy	Master of Hero	[11]
	Kaaval	Antony
2022	Naaradan	Govinda Menon
	CBI 5: The Brain	Balagopal, DYSP, C.B.I.
	Kooman	Somasekharan, CI
	Gold	Other bride's father
2023	Kolaambi	Abdul Kader	[12]
	Iru		[13]
	Section 306 IPC		[14]
	Otta		[15]
	Thaal		[16]
	Bullet Diaries		[17]
2024	Little Hearts	Johnson	[18]
	DNA	DGP	[19]
	Secret		[20]
	Hunt		[21]
	Kadha Innuvare		[22]

Other works

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Notes
1990	Dr. Pasupathy		Yes
1991	Aakasha Kottayile Sultan		Yes
1992	Thalastaanam		Yes
1993	Sthalathe Pradhana Payyans		Yes
	Ekalavyan		Yes
	Mafia		Yes
1994	Commissioner		Yes
1995	The King		Yes
1997	Lelam		Yes
1999	Pathram		Yes
2001	Praja		Yes
	Dubai		Yes
2005	Bharatchandran IPS	Yes	Yes
2008	Roudram	Yes	Yes
2012	The King & the Commissioner		Yes
TBA	Lelam 2		Yes	[23]
TBA	Untitled Jeethu Joseph film		Yes	[24]

Distribution

Year	Title	language	Notes
2017	Orayiram Kinakkalal	Malayalam
	Adam Joan	Malayalam
	Kaabil	Hindi	In Kerala
	Raees	Hindi	In Kerala
TBA	Lelam 2	Malayalam	Pre production

Television

Year	Title	Channel	Role	Notes
2017–2018	Aniyara	Surya TV	Host
2019	Nammal Thammil 2	Asianet	Host
2019–2020	Jananayakan	Amrita TV	Judge
2020	Crime Patrol	Kairali TV	Host
2020-2021	Indulekha	Surya TV	Ramanadha Menon	TV Serial
2021	Votography	Kairali TV	Co-Host with John Brittas
2022	Naatupaksham	Surya TV	Host
2023	Masterpeace	Disney+ Hotstar	Chandichan	Web series

Awards and nominations

Won

• FMB Minnale Film Award 2021– Best Actor (Male) for Kalamandalam Hyderali
• Madrid Imagineindia International Film Festival 2019 – Best Actor (Male) for Bhayanakam
• Indywood Academy Award for the Best Actor (Male) – Bhayanakam, 2018
• Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Best Second Actor (Male) – Jacobinte Swargarajyam, 2017
• Asianet Comedy Awards for Star performer of the year – various films, 2017
• Asianet Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor – Jacobinte Swargarajyam, 2017
• South Indian International Movie Awards for Best Supporting Actor – Jacobinte Swargarajyam, 2017
• Asiavision Awards for Best Character Actor – Jacobinte Swargarajyam, 2016

Nominations

• 65th Filmfare Awards Southfor Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam- Godha, 2018
• 2nd IIFA Utsavam for Best Supporting Actor – Jacobinte Swargarajyam, 2017
• 64th Filmfare Awards South for Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Malayalam – Jacobinte Swargarajyam, 2017
• 4th South Indian International Movie Awardsfor Best Supporting Actor – Ohm Shanthi Oshaana, 2015

References

1. "Renji Panicker: Movies, Photos, Videos, News, Biography & Birthday | eTimes". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
2. "Renji Panicker's next flick". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 9 July 2008.
3. "Fire Brand @25" (in Malayalam). Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
4. Archived 1 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Renji Panicker busy scripting two mammoth projects". 2 August 2017.
6. "Renji Panicker – Movies, biography, News, Age & Photos". BookMyShow.
7. BizHat.com – Roudram Review. Mammootty, Manju, Lalu Alex, Saikumar, Vijayaraghavan, Rajan.P.Dev, Janardhanan, Shammi Thilakan, Subair, T.P.Madhavan, Jayakrishnan, Spadikam George, Maya Moushmi, Urmila Unni. Movies.bizhat.com. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
8. Day of the action heroes. The Hindu (22 March 2012). Retrieved 30 September 2016.
9. Fire Brand @25 – Page 3. mangalam.com.
10. Thomas, Pramod (22 August 2015). "When Film-makers Prefer Shadow Walking". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
11. "Malayalam action thriller Muddy to release on December 10". The New Indian Express. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
12. "Nithya Menen-starrer Kolaambi's trailer is here". Cinema Express. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
13. "Othello adaptation Iru is a tale of caste politics". Cinema Express. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
14. "Renji Panicker and Shanthi Krishna to play lead roles in 'Section 306 IPC'". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
15. "Otta trailer: Resul Pookutty's star-studded directorial debut promises some intense drama". Cinema Express. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
16. "Anson Paul's 'Thaal' trailer unveils gripping psychological thriller inspired by real events". The Times of India. 7 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
17. "Dhyan Sreenivasan and Prayaga Martin join Santosh Mandoor-directed Bullet Diaries". The New Indian Express. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
18. Features, C. E. (4 May 2024). "Shane Nigam's Little Hearts gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
19. Features, C. E. (11 May 2024). "Raai Laxmi's DNA gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
20. Features, C. E. (10 July 2024). "SN Swamy's directorial debut Secret gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
21. "Bhavana Menon teams up with Kaapa director Shaji Kailas for a thriller titled Hunt". India Today. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
22. Features, C. E. (24 August 2024). "Kadha Innuvare release date announced". Cinema Express. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
23. George, Anjana. "Suresh Gopi to play 'Chackochi' and Gokul Suresh 'Kochu Chackochi' in Lelam 2". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
24. "Renji Panicker to team up with Jeethu Joseph for his next film". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 February 2023.

External links

• Renji Panicker at IMDb