Pushpendra Singh is an Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in several Hindi short films and feature films, including Lajwanti (2014), Maru Ro Moti (2019), and Laila Aur Satt Geet (2020).
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Pushpendra Singh was born in 1978 (age 45 years; as in 2023) in Saiyan village, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. He completed his schooling in 1996 from Birla High School in Pilani, Rajasthan. Thereafter, he enrolled at Jiwaji University in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Later, he joined the University of Lucknow, where he earned a master’s degree in tourism management in 2001. In 2006, he moved to Pune, Maharashtra, where he enrolled at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII); He did an acting course there till 2008.
Pushpendra’s picture was taken when he was studying in FTII
In an interview, Pushpendra said that he became interested in directing films after working as a theater artist in Delhi. They said,
While working with him in Barry John’s theater group in Delhi, we not only acted but also directed short plays based on certain themes. Barrie introduced us to cinema outside India and since then I became interested in directing a film one day.
Later, Pushpendra participated in Berlinale Talents, the talent development program of the Berlin International Film Festival, where he graduated in 2011 with a degree in filmmaking. Before starting his career as a film producer and actor, Pushpendra briefly served as a professor at FTII.
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 10″
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
parents and siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings.
wife and kids
His marital status is not known.
livelihood
In 2009, he got the role of a character named Jayanath and a carpenter in the Hindi drama film Aadmi Ki Aurat Aur Aur Aur Kahani, which won the Venice Horizons Award in the Special Mention category at the Venice Film Festival. He got the role of Imran in the movie Trishna in 2011. In the film, he shared the screen with popular actress Freida Pinto.
Pushpendra Singh in conversation with the team of a film
In 2014, he made his directorial debut with the Hindi film Lajwanti, in which he was also involved in producing, acting and writing the screenplay. The film takes inspiration from the 14th-century Kashmiri poetess Lalleshwari, also known as Lalla or Lal Ded, and is set against the backdrop of the Kashmir conflict. It was screened at various film festivals in 2020 including the Berlin International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival and Jeonju International Film Festival.
A plaque announcing the screening of the film Lajwanti at FTII in 2014
In interactions with the media, he emphasized that he secured a portion of the financing for his film through a campaign that involved contributions from the public during the filming process and after its completion.
In the same year, he appeared in a short film titled Chaita Ki Ek Dpohari, A Summer Afternoon. He got the role of a militant leader in the film Bioscopewala in 2017. He directed and wrote both the screenplay for the film Ashwatthama, which was released in the same year. The film was screened at Busan International Film Festival, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and Dharamshala International Film Festival. While giving an interview, Pushpendra talked about the film and said,
It started with religion… how we see religion, how it shapes us and affects us. This is all from my memory. I was brought up in Chambal. The whole film is like a dialogue with me. How I was affected… It had a negative as well as a positive effect on me. The film shows how religion can be misused and how it can be a support in our bad days. It also helps you to overcome bad times. You have something to do every day, a ritual to complete every day and it keeps you busy.
Pushpendra Singh at International Film Festival
He directed and wrote the screenplay for the hybrid film Maru Ro Moti in 2019. He directed and wrote the screenplay for the 2020 film Laila Aur Satt Geet. In 2023, he appeared in the short film Nocturnal Burger. In the same year, he directed and wrote the screenplay for the film Ajmer 92. The film is largely based on true incidents of the crime, where more than a hundred school and college girls were subjected to gang rape and extortion in Ajmer. An Islamic organization called Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind urged the Government of India to ban the screening of the film in June 2023. The organization’s president, Maulana Mahmood Madani, claimed that the film has the potential to create a divide between Hindus and Muslims in the country. While giving an interview he talked about this and said,
Movies and social media are being used to link criminal activities to a particular religion which will certainly harm our shared heritage. Chishti Ajmeri is known as the messenger of peace and harmony in the country.
Pushpendra defended the screening of the film saying that the film shows reality and is not a propaganda film as claimed by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president.
Prize
- In 2020, Pushpendra Singh won the Netpack Award at the Jeonju Film Festival for his film Laila Aur Saat Geet.
- In the same year, he won the Golden Henle Award under the Best Music Documentary category at the Krakow Film Festival for his film Maru Ro Moti.
- In 2020, he received the Best Director Award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival for his film Laila Aur Saat Geet.
facts/common sense
- Pushpendra Singh pursues his hobby of reading with great enthusiasm.
- He developed a passion for cinema while attending school. In an interview, he shared that the school staff would screen movies for the students on weekends. He not only watched the movies but also tried to recreate the scenes including the dialogues. He talked about it and said,
I studied in a boarding school where we were shown Hindi movies every Saturday. Sometimes we were shown a Malayalam or Hollywood film. But, once during the holidays I saw ‘Pather Panchali’ on Doordarshan and saw pictures related to it even though it is in Bengali.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn