Brahmanand S Siingh

Brahmanand S. Siingh (born 3 May 1965) is a filmmaker and author from Mumbai, India. He is best known for the films Kaagaz Ki Kashti, a biopic on Jagjit Singh and his feature-length documentary on R. D. Burman, Pancham Unmixed: Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai.

Early life and education

Brahmanand S Siingh grew up in Purnia, Bihar. Later he moved to St Xavier's College Ranchi and eventually to Kolkata University for his English Literature Masters. His journeys into cinema, however, started within a year of his moving to Mumbai in 1993.

Career Brahmanand began writing about art and cinema in the 1980s, publishing articles in publications like The Telegraph, Statesman, Times of India, The Hindu, Indian Express, and The Independent. He also published online work during the dotcom boom. Brahmanand has published over 3,000 articles and features, essays, poems and short stories, as well as three biographical books, Strings Of Eternity, Diamonds & Rust and Lightness Of Being.

He began making films in the late 1990s, mainly producing biographical documentaries and independent films. He is most well known for his experiential biopics on figures like RD Burman and Jagjit Singh (Pancham Unmixed & Kaagaz Ki Kashti). "Strings of Eternity" and "Diamonds and Rust", co-authored with Gaurav Sharma, provide insights into the life, music and personality of maestro RD Burman.

Pancham Unmixed is a rare biographical documentary to have premiered at IFFLA, Los Angeles to a full house. The film also featured on Netflix and is currently streaming on iTunes. Pancham Unmixed was screened by PVR Cinemas on 24-25 Mar, 2018 in screens across the country. It also saw a rare telecast on National Geographic on 26 Dec, 2021. Kaagaz ki Kashti featured on Amazon Prime and travelled to various international film festivals.

He has also won the REX-Karmaveer-Chakra Awards, in partnership with the United Nations, for transforming lives through social impact projects and ideas of hope. Siingh's latest feature project, Jhalki, a feature film that attempts to create public awareness of child trafficking and child labor.

He has also sat on the jury of various international film festivals and award platforms, and conducts filmmaking and scriptwriting workshops.

Filmography

As a director and/or producer. Year Title 1997 Ashgari Bai 1998 A burden of Love 1999 Back to Nature 2002 Uncaging the Body 2005 Ragpickers 2008 Pancham Unmixed 2011 Chidiya Rain Basera 2012 Ambassador of Peace 2015 Knowing Pancham 2015 Through Our Eyes 2016 Riding on a Sunbeam 2017 Kaagaz Ki Kashti 2019 Jhalki

Awards