Gnana Rajasekharan, a Kerala cadre IAS officer, retired voluntarily to focus on what he loves most and where his heart lies – filmmaking. Posted in Kerala, a state where art and culture are highly valued, the officer was able to pursue his love and interest while serving.
However, his desire to not compromise his duties while following his passion led him to choose VRS, a move he says was beneficial to both him and the government.
Indian Masterminds spoke exclusively with this national award-winning director about his journey from a playwright to a bureaucrat and finally, a filmmaker.
A PASSION
Mr. Rajasekharan, a former playwright, was mostly interested in directing plays when he was younger. Before joining the IAS, the officer spent four years as a technical officer with the Intelligence Bureau in Mumbai, where many of his plays were performed.
As he became an IAS officer in 1983 and received his posting in Kerala, people there noticed his interest in films and appointed him as the MD of the Kerala Film Development Corporation.
“Kerala is a state where arts, culture, literature, dramas and such artistry is highly respected not only by the common public but also the bureaucrats and politicians. I was glad to receive such immense support from people, for keeping my passion alive!” the officer shared.
FILMMAKING VENTURE
Mr. Rajasekharan had previously published an allegorical novel titled Yanai Kuthirai Ottagam, which was named the best novel of the year by the Tirupur Tamil Sangam. He has written and directed several plays, including Vayiru (a compilation of three plays published in 1980), the Hindi translation of which earned him an all-India award for best writing.
He was appointed District Collector of Thrissur, Kerala’s centre of arts and culture, in 1995. He began shooting films from this point because he believed the moment was right.
He didn’t, however, quit his job to do so. Instead, he obtained permission from the government and took a three-month leave to visit Chennai and produce his debut film, Mogamul, based on a well-known Tamil novel from 1950.
MOGAMUL (1995)
Mogamul is a love triangle story about a college student and an aspiring classical vocalist. The film took about a year to shoot, and to everyone’s astonishment, Mr. Rajasekharan’s first film won the Indira Gandhi National Award for Best Debut Film of a Director.
“That bolstered my confidence, and my superiors in Kerala were also impressed. They appreciated me and gave me leave anytime I wanted to create films. While serving, I was able to complete four feature films,” he told Indian Masterminds.
DEPUTATION TO CHENNAI
In 1998, the officer was deputed to Chennai and named Chief of the Censor Board. He worked in Chennai censoring Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films while also directing two films, Mugam and Bharathi.
While Mugam (1999) fetched poor reviews and fared badly at the box office, Bharathi (2000), the biopic of the Tamil poet Subramanya Bharathi, starring Marathi actor Sayaji Shinde, went on to win four National Film Awards and six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards!
“Bharathi was my magnum opus and gave me international fame as it was officiated in Europe, USA, and Sri Lanka,” said the officer.
PERIYAR (2007) AND RAMANUJAN (2014)
After a gap of nearly seven years, the officer again returned to the big screen with Periyar, a biography on E.V. Ramaswamy that concentrated on the history of the Dravidian movement, compiling numerous episodes from the time. The film won Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 48th National Film Awards and was screened at several international film festivals.
In 2014, he directed Ramanujan, a biographical film on Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
“I went to Cambridge to make the film, for some time. Professionally, I believe, my best film was Ramanujan,” shared the officer.
TAKING VRS
The officer was assigned as the Government’s Principal Secretary, but he realized it was time for him to focus entirely on filmmaking. Furthermore, he did not want to jeopardize his duty or passion, preferring to do justice in whichever profession he selected.
“This prompted me to take VRS, following which I directed Ramanujan. The Kerala government wanted me to be the Director of a film institute in Kerala. After roughly four years, I rejoined the service and served as the Director for two years before returning to Chennai to resume filmmaking,” said Mr. Rajasekharan.
LATEST WORK
In 2021, his latest film, Five Feelings, was released. The female-oriented film is an anthology of five separate stories based on a novel by a well-known author.
Currently, he is working on his next film, The Great Man, the script for which has been completed and the crew is waiting for the shoot to commence. The film will be a fiction that depicts the journey of the great poet Thiruvalluvar, who visits the country in 2023, 2000 years after his death, and its ramifications.
Mr. Rajasekharan has also directed various short films such as Oru Kan, Oru Parvai (1999, Tamil), Vivaram Onum Ariyam (Malayalam), Puthia Keralam (Malayalam) and Kanavu Nijamagum (Tamil, 2007).
