Cinematographer-turned-filmmaker
Santosh
Shivan,
who
was
conferred
with
the
Padma
Shri
on
Saturday,
said
he
felt
good
to
have
been
chosen
for
the
award
and
was
grateful
to
the
Tamil
film
industry
for
it.
"It
feels
good
to
have
been
chosen
for
the
award.
I'm
grateful
to
the
Tamil
film
industry
for
this
honour," Sivan
told
IANS.
He
also
thanked
the
graduates
of
the
Film
and
Television
Institute
of
India,
Pune.
"I'm
very
grateful
to
the
graduates
of
the
film
institute
of
Pune
for
proposing
my
name
to
be
considered
for
this
honour,"
he
added.
The
49-year
old
Sivan
got
the
award
for
his
contribution
to
Indian
cinema
over
the
last
two
decades.
Starting
his
career
as
a
cinematographer
in
the
1986
Malayalam
experimental
film
Nidhiyude
Katha,
Sivan
has
handled
the
camera
for
critically
acclaimed
films
such
as
Raakh,
Thalapathi,
Roja
and
Aham.
Having
assisted
his
father
while
making
documentaries
as
a
youngster,
Sivan
has
made
over
30
documentaries
so
far.
Two
of
his
best
documentaries
are
Farmers
Portrait
and
Prarambha.
He
also
wielded
the
megaphone
for
feature
films
Terrorist,
Malli,
Asoka
and
Halo.
Sivan,
who
was
recently
lauded
for
his
work
as
cinematographer
in
Vijay-starrer
Thuppakki,
is
awaiting
the
release
of
his
forthcoming
Tamil-English
bilingual
Ceylon,
the
story
of
a
homeless
refugee
girl
during
the
Sri
Lankan
civil
war.
Sivan,
a
founding
member
of
the
Indian
Society
of
Cinematographers,
has
also
won
12
national
awards,
six
state
awards
and
three
Filmfare
awards.
He
also
has
10
international
awards
to
his
credit.