Ranjith Sankar is an Indian filmmaker who works in Malayalam films. He started his movie career with the 2009 thriller Passenger. He launched his production house Dreams N Beyond in 2012 and his distribution house Punyalan Cinemas in 2017.

Early life

Born in Thrissur, Kerala, India, Ranjith completed his education at St. Thomas College in Thrissur and studied B.Tech Civil Engineering at Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam. Ranjith's writing career began with television series Nizhalkal and American Dreams. He won the Kerala State Award for Best Screenplay (Television) for American Dreams.

Career

In 2009, he made Passenger, another thriller. In 2011, his next film Arjunan Saakshi, starring Prithviraj, was released. The film was inspired by his real-life experiences. It got positive reviews from the critics, but was a disappointment at the box office. Molly Aunty Rocks (2012) starring Revathy and Prithviraj was Dreams n Beyond's first production, a critical and commercial success. His next film was Punyalan Agarbattis (2013), a satire featuring Jayasurya, Nyla Usha, Innocent, Rachana Narayanankutty and Aju Varghese. In November 2014, Ranjith's Varsham starring Mammootty, Asha Sarath and Mamta Mohandas was released. Mammootty won several awards for his role in the film. This was followed by Su Su Sudhi Vathmeekam, in November 2015. The horror-comedy film Pretham was released in August 2016. It was partially remade in Telugu as Raju Gari Gadhi 2 (2017) starring Nagarjuna Akkineni. Ramante Edanthottam was his next, a best-selling movie on female empowerment. He followed it up with sequels to Punyalan and Pretham titled Punyalan Private Limited and Pretham2. He launched his distribution company Punyalan Cinemas with Punyalan Private Limited, another major commercial success. In 2018, Ranjith directed the film "Njan Marykutty," which is recognized as the first commercial movie in India to feature a transgender protagonist. The lead character of Marykutty was portrayed by actor Jayasurya, and the film went on to win two Kerala State Awards and received significant recognition at film festivals. The experimental thriller Kamala was released in 2019. In 2023, Ranjith highlighted the importance of prioritizing box office revenue over other income streams, particularly OTT platforms.

Filmography

Awards

Best Debut director Best Debut director (Nomination) Best Director (Nomination) Best Director (Nomination) 2009: First Lohithadas Puraskaram for best screenplay