This Mollywood director reshaped masculinity of Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Suresh Gopi: HBD Shaji Kailas

Popular Mollywood director Shaji Kailas is celebrating his 56th birthday on February 8. As the master craftsman is celebrating his special day, several Mollywood actors have started pouring in their wishes. The director's next movie is 'Kaduva' featuring Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead role, and it marks his comeback to Mollywood after a hiatus of eight years. 

Shaji Kailas began his career in 1989 with the movie 'The News' starring Suresh Gopi in the lead role. Suresh Gopi, at that time, was a young actor with no much popularity. The movie which was a mystery thriller followed a Hollywood story-telling pattern and emerged as an average grosser at the box-office. Later, he made several blockbuster movies which reshaped the career of several Mollywood superstars. 

Thalasthanam and Commissioner: Suresh Gopi's rise to superstardom

It was in 1992 that Shaji Kailas made 'Thalasthanam' with Suresh Gopi. The film was penned by Renji Panicker, and upon its release, the film emerged as a blockbuster at the box-office. The success of 'Thalasthanam' also gave Suresh Gopi a new title, 'The Angry Young Man of Mollywood'. 

In 1993, Suresh Gopi and Shaji Kailas again joined hands and delivered two blockbusters 'Mafia' and 'Ekalavyan'. It was in 1994 that Suresh Gopi climbed the stairs of superstardom with the movie 'Commissioner'. The film is widely considered the best action movie ever made in Malayalam, and it ran for more than 100 days in all release centers.

The success of 'Commissioner' made Suresh Gopi the most valuable star in Mollywood, and Shaji Kailas became the changing face of Malayalam cinema, which was mostly revolving around regional subjects until then. 

One of the major attractions of all these Shaji Kailas movies was Renji Panicker's firebrand dialogues. With powerful punch dialogues and English blended dialogues, Renji Paniker literally set the theaters on fire during those days. 

Later, Shaji Kailas and Suresh Gopi delivered some memorable movies including Mahathma, FIR, The Tiger, and Chinthamani Kolacase. 

Mammootty's The King which set the box-office on fire

In the 1990s, Shaji Kailas was one of the most valuable directors in Mollywood, and superstars were waiting to do a movie with the filmmaker. In 1995, Mollywood audiences witnessed a real storm as Mammootty and Shaji Kailas delivered a mammoth blockbuster with 'The King'. In the film, Mammootty played the role of Joseph Alex, a dashing daredevil IAS officer who fights against the evils in society. 

The script of this film was also penned by Renji Panicker. The film was loaded with several punch dialogues including the iconic 'I have an extra bone' usage. 

Mohanlal's Aaram Thampuran: Rise of a hero

In 1997 Shaji Kailas joined hands with Superstar Mohanlal in the movie 'Aaram Thampuran'. The film portrayed Mohanlal in a macho avatar named Jagannathan. The film was loaded with high voltage commercial elements, and it emerged as a mammoth blockbuster at the box-office. 

Later, in 2000, Mohanlal and Shaji Kailas again joined hands in the movie 'Narasimham', another film that explored the star power of Mohanlal to the fullest.