M. Rajesh

After studying engineering at National Engineering College, Kovilpatti, Rajesh took an IT job at Mumbai for 6 months before he decided to pursue a career in films. He worked with the production unit Cosmic Blues, and as an assistant on many short films and advertisement films for 1 and a half years before he returned to Chennai.

"I started my film career in Chennai assisting Ameer in Mounam Pesiyathey. Then I got a chance to assist S.A. Chandrashekhar when he was making Muthamidalama for Digital Magic," he recalls. "If the plan is to take the first shot at 7 a.m, rain or shine, he would take it. He would plan meticulously and save time and money. I learnt these things from him the most."

At the same time, he met his future wife Shakthi and fell in love. He assisted Chandrashekhar for another three films, and later thought: "I asked myself what is my style? I can’t make serious message-based films like Ameer nor copy Chandrashekhar sir. I wanted my own style that youngsters would enjoy. That’s how I wrote Siva Manasula Sakthi."

In an interview with The Hindu he revealed that he was not confident when he walked into Vikatan Talkies to give them a narration. "I didn’t have any hope but the minute Srinivasan sir heard the script, he said they would produce it".[6]

Rajesh's films incorporate several themes, running gags and one-liners. Most notable is the inclusion of actor-comedian Santhanam in each of his ventures, often in a role rivaling the protagonists. Rajesh had once said that he would never make a movie that did not include Santhanam in the cast even though if he take films without a heroine. The catchphrase "Nanbaen, da!" from Boss Engira Bhaskaran (BEB) and "Oru quarter Sollu machi" from Siva Manasula Sakthi (SMS) has become a part of the pop culture lexicon in Tamil Nadu, as has, to a lesser extent, "Fact-u fact-u fact-u..." from Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (OKOK). He primarily works with music composer Yuvan Shankar Raja (although Harris Jayaraj stepped in as a replacement in OKOK), and lyricist Na. Muthukumar. A final recurring theme is the special appearance during the end of a film by an actor who has worked in another of Rajesh's films (Arya guest-appears in Siva Manasula Sakthi and OKOK, and Jeeva in BEB; both of them are slated to appear in his forthcoming film with Karthi Sivakumar. Especially in the latter two films, the character in the special appearance acts as a deus ex machina, solving the problems faced by the protagonist and uniting him with his lover. In all of his films, he is the narrator.

• M. Rajesh at IMDb