Major Ravi
A. K. Raveendran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 13 June 1958 |
| Other names | Major Ravi |
| Alma mater | Army Cadet College . Indian Military Academy |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse |
Anitha (m. 1988) |
| Children | Arjun Ravi |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Kannan Pattambi (Brother) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service |  Indian Army |
| Rank |  Major |
Major A. K. Raveendran SM (born 13 June 1958) is a retired officer of the Indian Army, former National Security Guard commando, film actor and film director predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and some films in Tamil and Hindi. He was awarded the President's gallantry medal in 1991 and 1992 for his contributions in fighting terrorism in Punjab and Kashmir.[1] After retiring from the army, he began his career in Indian cinema as a consultant for military-based films. He made his independent directorial debut in 2006 with Keerthi Chakra for which he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay.[2]
Family
[edit]Major Ravi was born to P. Kuttisankaran Nair, who was a soldier in the Indian Army and A. T. Satyabhama.[3] He is married to Anitha. The couple has a son Arjun Ravi.
Military career
[edit]He joined the army after his schooling and later pursued his studies within the army and graduated from the Army Cadet College to become an officer in Dec 1984. He served in the Indian Army as a commando in the National Security Guards, as Aide-de-camp (ADC) to the then chief of Indian Army General Sunith Francis Rodrigues PVSM, VSM and as an officer in the Indian Military Intelligence in the Andaman and Nicobar islands and Jammu and Kashmir.[4] He was head of the mission code-named Operation One Eyed Jack to capture suspects of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination (the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi by Thenmozhi Rajaratnam on 21 May 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu).[5] His military tenure of four years in the National Security Guard as a commando inspired him to direct Keerthi Chakra (2006) and Mission 90 Days (2007).[6] At the time of his retirement from the Indian Army, his rank was Major.
Film career
[edit]After serving for about two decades in the Indian Army, he became a military consultant for Indian films. He has worked with Indian film makers Priyadarshan, Rajkumar Santoshi, Kamal Haasan, and Mani Ratnam.[7] His first feature film was Keerti Chakra, a film on Kashmir militancy.[8]
His second movie Mission 90 Days was his own experience of the mission to capture the suspects of Rajiv Gandhi murder case.[9] His third project Kurukshetra based on the Kargil war starring Mohanlal was a sequel to Keerthi Chakra.[10] The 2010 film Kandahar was a third installment to the Major Mahadevan film series.
In 2012, he directed Karma Yodha with Mohanlal. In 2015, Picket 43, starring Prithviraj and Javed Jaffery was made. It turned out to be a hit. He is now heading towards a fourth installment in the Major Mahadevan series. About the film he quoted: "The focus will be on the individuals rather than the war, and will portray the relationships that are forged during the war."[11]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Actor | |||
| 1999 | Megham | Yes | |||
| Olympian Anthony Adam | Yes | ||||
| 2000 | Sradha | Yes | |||
| Pukar | Yes | Hindi film | |||
| Snegithiye | Yes | Bilingual film (Malayalam and Tamil) | |||
| 2001 | Aalavandhan | Yes | Tamil film | ||
| 2002 | Onnaman | Yes | |||
| Punarjani | Yes | Yes | Co-director | ||
| 2003 | Lesa Lesa | Yes | Tamil film | ||
| Pattalam | Yes | ||||
| 2006 | Keerthi Chakra | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2007 | Raakilipattu | Yes | |||
| Mission 90 Days | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2008 | Kurukshetra | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2010 | Toofan | Yes | Yes | Yes | Hindi film |
| Kandahar | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2012 | Karma Yodha | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2013 | Oru Yathrayil | Yes | Yes | Segments Amma and I Love My Appa | |
| 2015 | Picket 43 | Yes | Yes | ||
| Anarkali | Yes | ||||
| 2016 | Action Hero Biju | Yes | |||
| Marubhoomiyile Aana | Yes | ||||
| 2017 | Lavakusha | Yes | |||
| 1971: Beyond Borders | Yes | Yes | |||
| 2019 | Driving License | Yes | |||
| 2020 | Varane Avashyamund | Yes | |||
| 2021 | The Last Two Days | Yes | |||
| Oru Thathvika Avalokanam | Yes | ||||
| 2022 | Santacruz | Yes | Filming | ||
| Mei Hoom Moosa | Yes | ||||
| Meppadiyan | Yes | ||||
| 2023 | Valatty | No | No | Yes | Cameo appearance |
| Garudan | No | No | Yes | [12] | |
| 2024 | Thankamani | No | No | Yes | [13] |
| Kishkindha Kaandam | No | No | Yes | [14] | |
Television
[edit]| Year | Show | Role | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 | Unarunna Keralam | Host | Amrita TV |
| 2020-2021 | Flowers students startup | Judge | Flowers TV |
| 2021 | Charithram Enniloode | Narrator | Safari TV |
| 2021-2022 | Beautiful Minds | Host | Behindwoods ICE |
Awards
[edit]- Asianet Film Awards
- 2006: Best Director Award - Keerthi Chakra
- 2008: Special Honour Jury Award - Kurukshetra
- 2010: Best Feature Film on National Integration Award - Kandahar
References
[edit]- ^ "A major in the film industry".
- ^ "The untold story of a commando operation Film review". The Hindu. 17 July 2007. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Major Ravi - RJ Salini - Starjam - CLUB FM 94.3". YouTube. 12 September 2018.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Major Ravi 09 | Charithram Enniloode | Safari TV". YouTube. 29 January 2021.
- ^ "Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary today, was assassinated in LTTE suicide bomb attack 29 years ago". 21 May 2020.
- ^ "The untold story of a commando operation". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 17 July 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ "Straight from a soldier's heart". The Hindu. 4 August 2006.
- ^ "മേജര് ഓണ് ഫയര്! , Interview - Mathrubhumi Movies". Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- ^ "Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary today, was assassinated in LTTE suicide bomb attack 29 years ago". 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Now showing". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 11 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ Mohanlal in Major Ravi’s next!
- ^ Bureau, The Hindu (26 June 2023). "'Garudan' teaser: Suresh Gopi bashes up goons with a motorbike helmet". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "First look of Dileep's Thankamani out". Cinema Express. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ Features, C. E. (22 August 2024). "Asif Ali-starrer Kishkindha Kaandam gets a release date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
 | This Indian military-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Kerala State Film Award winners
- Living people
- Military personnel from Kerala
- Malayalam film directors
- Male actors from Palakkad
- Male actors in Malayalam cinema
- 1958 births
- People from Palakkad district
- Indian Army officers
- 20th-century Indian male actors
- Indian male film actors
- Film directors from Palakkad district
- 21st-century Indian people
- 21st-century Indian male actors
- Actors from Palakkad
- Indian military personnel stubs