Vijay Singh (writer and filmmaker)

For other people named Vijay Singh, see Vijay Singh (disambiguation).

Vijay Singh is an Indian writer and filmmaker based in France.

Biography

Vijay Singh is a writer, filmmaker and screenplay writer from India living in Paris. He was born to Kanwar Hari Singh, a surgeon, and Kanwarani Raksha Hari Singh.

He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and a Masters of Arts degree in History from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.[1]

Inspired by French surrealism and André Breton, Vijay Singh moved to Paris in the early 1980s and enrolled for a PhD at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales.

Career

Journalism

While still a student in Paris in the early eighties, Vijay Singh wrote a long 20-page article which was published by Le Monde diplomatique. This was the start of his career as a journalist. He has written extensively for the French press, primarily Libération, Le Monde and Le Monde diplomatique on issues revolving around politics, culture, art and cinema, and also contributed articles to magazines and other international newspapers such as The Guardian and The Times of India.

Literary

While still a journalist, Vijay Singh wrote his first novel, Jaya Ganga,[2] In Search of the River Goddess. The book was first published in France (Jaya Ganga, le Gange et son double, Ramsay, Paris 1985; Ginkgo, Paris 2005) before being published by Penguin Books India and UK.

He subsequently wrote Whirlpool of Shadows (French: Tourbillon d’ombres), La Nuit Poignardée (The Wounded Night), and The River Goddess (French: La Déesse qui devint fleuve), a book for young readers.

His latest book,Gange, fleuve et déesse, in collaboration with Jacques Raymond (photography), was published by éditions de la Flandonnière, France in 2014.

Whirlpool of Shadows was listed by the Booker Prize winner Barry Unsworth in his column “Best Books of the UK” in The Sunday Times, 1992.

Films

Vijay has written and directed two feature films. Jaya Ganga (French: Jaya, fille du Gange) was released in France, the UK and India and shown at several major film festivals worldwide, often in the competition category. The music was composed by Vanraj Bhatia. His second feature film One Dollar Curry,[3][4] a comedy on immigration, was shot in Paris and released internationally. The film received wide press and media coverage. The music was composed by Zakir Hussain.

Vijay Singh has written and directed the films India by Song.[5] and Farewell My Indian Soldier (Mademoiselle France pleure). His documentary Chami and Ana the Elephant (Man and Elephant/L'homme et l'éléphant) was first shown on the French television channel Canal + before being broadcast on some 100 televisions worldwide.

Awards

Bibliography

Filmography

Feature films

Documentaries

Screenplays

Theatre

Quotes

"The beauty of man is often the child that lives on in him." (Source: The River Goddess)
"Only humour can conquer death." (Source: One Dollar Curry)[3][4]
"To write is to meet solitude, face to face...nothing is more creative than a solitude where the presence of the other...is more present than ever..." (Source: Jaya Ganga, In Search of the River Goddess)
"When reality is bitter, let life be a dream." (Source: India by Song)

See also

Jaya Ganga

References

  1. ↑ Jaya Ganga: In Search of the River Goddess
  2. ↑ Call of the Ganga
  3. 1 2 3 4 Odes to imagination
  4. 1 2 3 4 Articles on Vijay Singh
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  6. ↑ http://reframecollection.org/films/film?Id=1581[]
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