Major Ravi

Major A. K. Raveendran SM (born 13 June 1958) is an Indian film director, actor in Malayalam cinema, retired Major in the Indian Army and a former National Security Guard commando. He made his independent directorial debut in 2006 with Keerthi Chakra for which he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Screenplay.

He joined the army after his schooling and later pursued his studies within the army and graduated from the Army Cadet College to become an officer in Dec 1984. He was head of the mission code-named Operation One Eyed Jack to capture suspects of the Rajiv Gandhi murder case. His military tenure of four years in the National Security Guard as a commando inspired him to direct Keerthi Chakra (2006) and Mission 90 Days (2007).

After serving for about two decades in the Indian Army, he became a military consultant for Indian films. He has worked with Indian film makers Priyadarshan, Rajkumar Santoshi, Kamal Haasan, and Mani Ratnam. He made a children's film, Toofan in Hindi in 1999, starring Dileep and Saba Khan, which had a delayed release in 2010, due to censoring issues. It was dubbed into Malayalam as Oru Avadhikaalam. His first feature film was Keerti Chakra, a film on Kashmir militancy.

His second movie Mission 90 Days was his own experience of the Rajiv Gandhi Assassination case. His third project Kurukshetra based on the Kargil war starring Mohanlal was a sequel to Keerthi Chakra. The 2010 film Kandahar was a third installment to the Major Mahadevan film series.

In 2012, he directed Karma Yodha withMohanlal. In 2015, Picket 43, starring Prithviraj and Javed Jaffery was made. It turned out to be a hit. He is now heading towards a fourth installment in the Major Mahadevan series. About the film he quoted: "The focus will be on the individuals rather than the war, and will portray the relationships that are forged during the war."

Kerala State Film Awards

• 2006: Best Screen Play - Keerthi Chakra

Asianet Film Awards

• 2006:Best Director Award - Keerthi Chakra
• 2008:Special Honour Jury Award - Kurukshetra
• 2010:Best Feature Film on National Integration Award - Kandahar