Biography

Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema.^[3] Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to date completed 55 feature films and 50 documentaries.^[4]

Career[edit]

Santosh, a founding member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers and the most awarded Director of Photography in India, graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and completed 45 feature films and 41 documentaries.^[5]

As a director, Santosh won his first National Award in 1988 for the Story of Tiblu (1988). His film Halo was honoured at the 43rd National Film Awards as the Best Children's Film and Best Sound.^[6]

Santosh became the first cinematographer in the Asia-Pacific region to join the American Society of Cinematographers membership.^[7] As a cinematographer, he has won five National Film Awards – including four for Best Feature Film Cinematography. As of 2014, he has received eleven National Film Awards, and 21 international awards for his works. He was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian cinema in 2014.

Late 1999s and present[edit]

In an interview, he said that some films he chose, not mostly because of the story but due to the very fact that he was comfortable with the director, a bigger pay cut and friendship things.^[8]

Documentary[edit]

His 2007 release Prarambha won the National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film at the 55th National Film Awards.^[9]

Filmography[edit]

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Director	Producer	Cinematographer	Writer	Language	Notes
1986	Nidhiyude Katha			Yes		Malayalam
	Oru Maymasa Pulariyil			Yes		Malayalam
1988	Story of Tiblu	Yes					National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film
1988	David David Mr. David			Yes		Malayalam
1989	New Year			Yes		Malayalam
	Raakh			Yes		Hindi
1990	Midhya			Yes		Malayalam
	Indrajaalam			Yes		Malayalam
	Dr. Pasupathy			Yes		Malayalam
	No.20 Madras Mail			Yes		Malayalam	Second Unit Cameraman
	Appu			Yes		Malayalam	Shot first schedule
1991	Perumthachan			Yes		Malayalam	National Film Award for Best Cinematography
	Thalapathi			Yes		Tamil
1992	Roja[10]			Yes		Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer
	Aham			Yes		Malayalam	Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
	Yodha			Yes		Malayalam
1993	Gardish			Yes		Hindi
1993	Gandharvam			Yes		Malayalam
1994	Pavithram			Yes		Malayalam
1995	Nirnayam			Yes		Malayalam
1995	Barsaat			Yes		Hindi	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
1995	Indira			Yes		Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer
1996	Kalapani			Yes		Malayalam	National Film Award for Best Cinematography Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
1996	Halo	Yes		Yes	Yes	Hindi	National Film Award for Best Children's Film
1997	Iruvar			Yes		Tamil	National Film Award for Best Cinematography Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer – South
1997	Darmiyan			Yes		Hindi
1998	Dil Se..			Yes		Hindi	National Film Award for Best Cinematography Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
1998	The Terrorist	Yes			Yes	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
1998	Malli	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation
1999	Vanaprastham			Yes		Malayalam	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography – South
2000	Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani			Yes		Hindi
	Pukar			Yes		Hindi
	Fiza			Yes		Hindi
2001	Asoka	Yes		Yes	Yes	Hindi	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
2003	Tehzeeb			Yes		Hindi
2004	Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities			Yes		Hindi	Zee Cine Award for Best Cinematography
	Aparichithan			Yes		Malayalam
	Bride and Prejudice			Yes		English
2005	Anandabhadram	Yes		Yes		Malayalam	Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
	Navarasa	Yes		Yes	Yes	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
	The Mistress of Spices			Yes		English
2007	Prarambha	Yes				Kannada	short film National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film
2007	Before the Rains	Yes	Yes	Yes		English & Malayalam
2008	Tahaan	Yes			Yes	Hindi	Best feature film award, CIFEJ Award (Centre International du Film pour l' Enfant et la Jeunesse) UNICEF Award at 11th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, Greece
2010	Raavan			Yes		Hindi
	Raavanan			Yes		Tamil
2011	Varnam		Yes			Tamil
	Urumi	Yes	Yes	Yes		Malayalam	Best Director at the Imagine India International Film Festival, Madrid
	Indian Rupee		Yes			Malayalam	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam
2012	Thuppakki			Yes		Tamil
2013	Rangrezz			Yes		Hindi
	Ceylon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2014	Inam[11]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tamil
	Anjaan			Yes		Tamil
2017	The Great Father		Yes			Malayalam
	Spyder [12]			Yes		Telugu & Tamil	Debut in Telugu cinema.
2018	Chekka Chivantha Vaanam [13][14]			Yes		Tamil
2020	Darbar			Yes		Tamil
2022	Jack and Jill	Yes		Yes		Malayalam
2022	Kaliyugam	Yes		Yes	Yes	Malayalam
2022	Mumbaikar	Yes				Hindi
2022	Barroz: Guardian of D' Gama's Treasure			Yes		Malayalam

As actor[edit]

Awards[edit]

National Film Awards

Kerala State Film Awards

• 1992 – Aham – Best Cinematography (Colour)
• 1994 – Pavithram – Best Cinematography
• 1996 – Kalapani – Best Cinematography
• 2005 – Anandabhadram – Best Cinematography

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

• 1992 – Roja – Best Cinematography
• 1996 – Indira – Best Cinematography
• 2010 – Raavanan – Best Cinematography

Filmfare Awards

• 1995 – Barsaat – Best Cinematography
• 1998 – Dil Se.. – Best Cinematography
• 2000 – Halo – Best Film (Critics)
• 2001 – Asoka – Best Cinematography

Filmfare Awards South

• 1997 – Iruvar – Best Cinematographer – South
• 1999 – Vanaprastham – Best Cinematographer – South

IIFA Awards

• 2002 – Asoka – IFFA Best Cinematographer Award

Star Screen Awards

• 2005 – Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities – Best Cinematography

Zee Cine Awards

• 2005 – Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities – Best Cinematography

International[edit]

Won:

• 1998 – The Terrorist – Best Director at Cairo International Film Festival
• 1998 – The Terrorist – Golden Pyramid at Cairo International Film Festival
• 1999 – Malli – Adult's Jury Award for Feature Film and Video (second place) at Chicago International Film Festival
• 1999 – The Terrorist – Grand Jury Prize at Cinemanila International Film Festival
• 1999 – The Terrorist – Lino Brocka Award for Best Film at Cinemanila International Film Festival
• 2000 – Malli– Poznan Goat for Best Director at 18th Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film Festival
• 2000 – The Terrorist – Panorama Jury Prize for Honorable Mention at Sarajevo Film Festival
• 2000 – Malli – Emerging Masters Showcase Award at Seattle International Film Festival Awards
• 2004 – Malli – Audience Award for Best Feature Film at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
• 2005 – Navarasa – Monaco International Film Festival (Monaco)
  • Won – Best Supporting Actor – Bobby Darling
  • Won – Angel Independent Spirit Award – Navarasa – Santosh Sivan
• 2008 – Before the Rains – Grand Award for Best Theatrical Feature at WorldFest Houston International Film Festival
• 2008 – Before the Rains – Crystal Kodak award for best cinematography.
• 2009 – Tahaan won a High Commendation in Children's Feature Film section at the 2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Nominated:

• 2001 – The Terrorist – Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film
• 2001 – The Terrorist – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film

  Late 1999s and present[edit]

  In an interview, he said that some films he chose, not mostly because of the story but due to the very fact that he was comfortable with the director, a bigger pay cut and friendship things.^[8]

  Documentary[edit]

  His 2007 release Prarambha won the National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film at the 55th National Film Awards.^[9]

  Filmography[edit]

  Key

  Denotes films that have not yet been released

  Year	Film	Director	Producer	Cinematographer	Writer	Language	Notes
  1986	Nidhiyude Katha			Yes		Malayalam
  	Oru Maymasa Pulariyil			Yes		Malayalam
  1988	Story of Tiblu	Yes					National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film
  1988	David David Mr. David			Yes		Malayalam
  1989	New Year			Yes		Malayalam
  	Raakh			Yes		Hindi
  1990	Midhya			Yes		Malayalam
  	Indrajaalam			Yes		Malayalam
  	Dr. Pasupathy			Yes		Malayalam
  	No.20 Madras Mail			Yes		Malayalam	Second Unit Cameraman
  	Appu			Yes		Malayalam	Shot first schedule
  1991	Perumthachan			Yes		Malayalam	National Film Award for Best Cinematography
  	Thalapathi			Yes		Tamil
  1992	Roja[10]			Yes		Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer
  	Aham			Yes		Malayalam	Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
  	Yodha			Yes		Malayalam
  1993	Gardish			Yes		Hindi
  1993	Gandharvam			Yes		Malayalam
  1994	Pavithram			Yes		Malayalam
  1995	Nirnayam			Yes		Malayalam
  1995	Barsaat			Yes		Hindi	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
  1995	Indira			Yes		Tamil	Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer
  1996	Kalapani			Yes		Malayalam	National Film Award for Best Cinematography Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
  1996	Halo	Yes		Yes	Yes	Hindi	National Film Award for Best Children's Film
  1997	Iruvar			Yes		Tamil	National Film Award for Best Cinematography Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer – South
  1997	Darmiyan			Yes		Hindi
  1998	Dil Se..			Yes		Hindi	National Film Award for Best Cinematography Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
  1998	The Terrorist	Yes			Yes	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
  1998	Malli	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation
  1999	Vanaprastham			Yes		Malayalam	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography – South
  2000	Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani			Yes		Hindi
  	Pukar			Yes		Hindi
  	Fiza			Yes		Hindi
  2001	Asoka	Yes		Yes	Yes	Hindi	Filmfare Award for Best Cinematography
  2003	Tehzeeb			Yes		Hindi
  2004	Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities			Yes		Hindi	Zee Cine Award for Best Cinematography
  	Aparichithan			Yes		Malayalam
  	Bride and Prejudice			Yes		English
  2005	Anandabhadram	Yes		Yes		Malayalam	Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
  	Navarasa	Yes		Yes	Yes	Tamil	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil
  	The Mistress of Spices			Yes		English
  2007	Prarambha	Yes				Kannada	short film National Film Award for Best Educational/Motivational/Instructional Film
  2007	Before the Rains	Yes	Yes	Yes		English & Malayalam
  2008	Tahaan	Yes			Yes	Hindi	Best feature film award, CIFEJ Award (Centre International du Film pour l' Enfant et la Jeunesse) UNICEF Award at 11th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, Greece
  2010	Raavan			Yes		Hindi
  	Raavanan			Yes		Tamil
  2011	Varnam		Yes			Tamil
  	Urumi	Yes	Yes	Yes		Malayalam	Best Director at the Imagine India International Film Festival, Madrid
  	Indian Rupee		Yes			Malayalam	National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam
  2012	Thuppakki			Yes		Tamil
  2013	Rangrezz			Yes		Hindi
  	Ceylon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
  2014	Inam[11]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Tamil
  	Anjaan			Yes		Tamil
  2017	The Great Father		Yes			Malayalam
  	Spyder [12]			Yes		Telugu & Tamil	Debut in Telugu cinema.
  2018	Chekka Chivantha Vaanam [13][14]			Yes		Tamil
  2020	Darbar			Yes		Tamil
  2022	Jack and Jill	Yes		Yes		Malayalam
  2022	Kaliyugam	Yes		Yes	Yes	Malayalam
  2022	Mumbaikar	Yes				Hindi
  2022	Barroz: Guardian of D' Gama's Treasure