Vinayan

T. G. Vinayakumar, professionally credited as Vinayan, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, and lyricist, who works predominantly in Malayalam cinema and occasionally in Tamil cinema. He has directed 40 Malayalam films, 4 Tamil films and 1 Telugu film.

Career

Vinayan started his career with the film Super Star, and he has directed the following films like Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum, Akasha ganga 2, Karumadikkuttan, Oomappenninu Uriyadappayyan, Dada Sahib, Vellinakshatram, Aakasha Ganga, Rakshasa Rajavu, Kalyana Sougandhikam, Kasi (Tamil), Enn mana vaanil, Independence, Sathyam, Albhuthadweep, Athishayan, Dracula and Sipayi Lahala. The genres of his films include comedy, horror, action, fantasy and family drama.

Vinayan also introduced a handful of actors and singers in the Malayalam film industry. Jayasurya, Indrajith Sukumaran, Anoop Menon, Honey Rose, Priyamani, Manikkuttan, Suresh Krishna, Meghana Raj, Lakshmi Menon, Sithara (singer), Sudeep kumar (singer) etc. are some of the actors and singers Vinayan has introduced in Malayalam.

In 2005, Vinayan wrote and directed the film Albhuthadweep (Wonder Island) which cast around 300 dwarfs for the first time in a film. The two-foot-high hero of the film, Ajayan, was written in the Guinness Book of Records and Vinayan himself was listed in India's Limca Book of Records. The film garnered the FilmFare and the Cinema Express awards, and was successfully remade in 2007 in the Tamil language by Vinayan himself.

Vinayan has also remade a few of his films into Tamil. He is also a script writer and lyricist. He directed a Malayalam television serial Iniyonnu Visramikkatte before making movies.

Vinayan is the founder/president of the MACTA Federation. He has also launched a co-operative society (with the assistance of the Government of Kerala) for the benefit of film workers. Vinayan is also the Advisory Member of the Cine Workers Welfare Board, sponsored by the Government of India.