Sanjivan Lal


Sanjivan Lal is an Indian film director and writer. He did his specialisation in Film Direction from Film and Television Institute of India at Pune. Before making feature films, he had made several documentaries on various topics for Government as well as for the Corporates. He has also made several one-off episodes for various channels like Zee and Star TV.
He was a jury member of non-feature section of Indian Panorama for IFFI, 2005 at Goa.
In 2011, he made his directorial debut with the film Bubble Gum which was a critically acclaimed film and was also appreciated all over. The film was among the 5 films you should've watched in 2011 by Rajeev Masand. The film was also listed among the best films of 2011 by Hindustan Times.
Sanjivan was also noticed and was among the best Debut Directors List of Yahoo! India.

Early life

Sanjivan Lal was born in Jamshedpur. He had his early education at Loyola School, Jamshedpur and later at Sawan Public School, New Delhi.
Later he did his graduation from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, where he took part in Dramatic Society – The Players.
After graduation he pursued Chartered Accountancy in Delhi for 2 and a half years only to quit & join 6 months documentary workshop being conducted by CENDIT, New Delhi sponsored by The Indo-German Social Service Society, 1989.
At the end of the workshop he got through Film and Television Institute of India at Pune to specialise in Film Direction. He graduated from FTII in 1993 & shifted to Bombay.

Career

Sanjivan Lal is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune with specialization in Film Direction, 1993. His diploma film The Second Page about the killing of under trails in Police lock ups was screened as part of the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India in Calcutta in 1994.
Starting his own production house, Lumiere Films, Sanjivan directed several one offs telecast on prime television channels like Star Plus's Star Bestsellers, Zee TV's Rishtey, Saturday Suspense and Sahara TV's Raaz and Mujrim Kaun? The episode 'Khazana' in the thriller series 'Mujrim Kaun?' won the prestigious RAPA award for excellence in Radio and Television advertising.
Sanjivan has dealt with a variety of non-fiction subjects as well. From a film on Chau mask making for the Government of Jharkhand, to a film on the Electronic Voting Machine for The Election Commission of India.
His documentary film "Is God Deaf?" about noise pollution in the name of religion was selected for the International Festival of Documentary and Reality Films at New Delhi and the International Film Festival of India, 2004, as part of the Indian Panorama beside host of other film festivals.
His first feature film in Hindi was Bubble Gum which was released on the 29 July 2011. The film was critically acclaimed and was among the best films of 2011. IMDB still rates this film at 7.3/10
In June 2017, Sanjivan established his film company called Eclectic Films.
He is currently in talks with various producers for his next film.
Meanwhile, he is also line-producing and directing a feature-length documentary film for the international market titled Operation Scuttle. It looks at the international factors and the economics that dictated a hurried granting of independence to India in 1947. It is presently being scripted by Ms. Shama Zaidi, the writer of M.S. Sathyu's Garam Hawa and Satyajit Ray's Shatranj Ke Khilari.

Activities

Has attended several scriptwriting workshops by Anjum Rajab Ali, British Council and by Script Factory from UK.
Sanjivan attended Rotterdam Lab at Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 2007.
Did freelance journalism on cinema for Delhi-based newspapers: Hindustan Times, The Patriot and The Indian Express.

Filmography

Director

The episode Khazana in the thriller series Mujrim Kaun? won the prestigious RAPA award for excellence in Radio and Television advertising.
"Is God Deaf?" was selected for PSBT-PRASAR BHARTI-UNESCO'S INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF DOCUMENTARY & REALITY FILMS at New Delhi, 2004 and was also selected for 35th INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA at Goa as a part of the INDIAN PANORAMA.
His diploma film The Second Page about the killing of under trails in Police lock ups was selected for THE INDIAN PANORAMA at the 25th INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA Calcutta 1994.