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Rajesh Touchriver Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 6, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth6 March 1972

Age47 (as in 2019)

BirthplaceArakulam, Idukki District, Kerala

ProfessionFilm Director, Production Designer, and Scriptwriter

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseSunitha Krishnan

FamilyFather - Siva Sankaran Nair; Mother - Rukmini Amma; Brother - PhD in Theater

Rajesh Touchriver Biography

Rajesh Touchriver is an Indian film director, production designer and scriptwriter from Arakulam, Kerala. Trained in theatre and visual arts, he has made a

Early life and background

Rajesh Touchriver was born M. S. Rajesh on 6 March 1972 in Arakulam in the Idukki district of Kerala. He grew up in a family with ties to traditional performing arts: his father, Siva Sankaran Nair, worked as a Kathakali actor, and Rajesh received early training in Kathakali from his uncle M. R. Sreedharan Nair. He also trained in the Kerala martial art Kalaripayattu.

He attended Government High School in Moolamattom and went on to study at the School of Drama in Thrissur and at the University of Calicut. Later he received further training in the United Kingdom at Wimbledon College of Arts. His formal qualifications include a BTA in Direction and a master’s degree in visual language, scenography and direction.

Career

Rajesh began his professional life in theatre, working with the National School of Drama in New Delhi in 1995 and directing more than thirty plays across Malayalam, Telugu and English by the late 1990s. He then moved into film; his credited debut as a director is the 2002 film In the Name of Buddha. He has directed feature films, documentaries, short films, music videos and television commercials, often engaging with social issues.

Among his feature films are 10–The Strangers (2005), Alex–The Blue Fox (2005), Naa Bangaaru Talli (2013) and Patnagarh (2019). His work has been recognised at state, national and international levels. Naa Bangaaru Talli brought him significant national attention in 2013, receiving the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu; the film also earned a National Award for Best Music Direction (background score) and special recognition for actress Anjali Patil. The same year the film won multiple honours at the Nandi Awards, including Best Feature Film and Best Actress, and received international festival awards.

Earlier international recognition includes awards and fellowships such as the Charles Wallace India Trust Award and prizes at several international festivals in the early 2000s. At the Indie Gathering International Film Festival in Ohio, his film Raktham (The Blood) collected multiple honours in 2017, including Best Foreign Feature Film and audience and technical awards.

Public profile

Professionally credited as Rajesh Touchriver, he adopted this name during his early career in order to make his surname more accessible to international distributors; the name Touchriver is a translation of Thodupuzha, a place in Kerala. He has combined classical theatre training with film studies and international exposure to build a career across formats and languages.

Outside his own film work, Rajesh has collaborated with the non-profit sector. He has directed documentaries for Prajwala, the organisation led by his wife, social activist Sunitha Krishnan. The couple appeared together on a celebrity episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 11 in October 2019.

Personal life

Rajesh Touchriver is married to Sunitha Krishnan. His mother is named Rukmini Amma. He has at least one brother who holds a PhD in theatre. He identifies as non-vegetarian.

Latest updates

By 2019 Rajesh Touchriver was 47 years old and continued to be active in filmmaking, with Patnagarh among his more recent feature credits. His career has continued to bridge Indian and international platforms, with awards and festival screenings stretching from the early 2000s into the late 2010s.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Rajesh Touchriver, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

Patnagarh

Feature film directed by Rajesh Touchriver (2019)

2019
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Career Highlights

  1. Debut feature director: In the Name of Buddha (2002)
  2. National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for Naa Bangaaru Talli (2013)
  3. Multiple international festival awards including Charles Wallace India Trust Award and honours at Indie Gathering (2017)
  4. Nandi Awards for Naa Bangaaru Talli (2013)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Rajesh Touchriver born?

Rajesh Touchriver was born on 6 March 1972.

What is Rajesh Touchriver known for?

Rajesh Touchriver is known for film Director, Production Designer, and Scriptwriter.

What is Rajesh Touchriver’s marital status?

Rajesh Touchriver's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Rajesh Touchriver married to?

Rajesh Touchriver is publicly listed as married to Sunitha Krishnan.