Vijay Singh Biography and latest books by Vijay Singh

Vijay Singh is a critically acclaimed and celebrated Indian novelist, screenplay-writer and film-maker residing in Paris. He has authored Jaya Ganga, Whirlpool of Shadows and The River Goddess.

Vijay Singh did a Major in History from St Stephen\'s College, Delhi, and did a postgraduate degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He then shifted base to Paris for doctoral work at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. This was done since he was passionate about French literature and surrealism.

While he was studying in Paris, he started writing for the French press in the early eighties. He wrote extensively for several leading French and international newspapers such as Le Monde, Le Monde Diplomatique, Libération and The Guardian, on turbulent events like the Operation Blue Star, the Bhopal Gas tragedy and Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

In 1984, a leading French publisher commissioned him to write a book on India. Vijay Singh then took a journey along river Ganges, from its source in the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. With this “pilgrimage” as the central thread, and a surrealist Franco-Indian love-story he wrote his first novel, Jaya Ganga, In Search of the River Goddess. Needless to say that the book was well-received. Since then, Vijay Singh wrote many books - La Nuit Poignardée, Whirlpool of Shadows and The River Goddess. 

Jaya Ganga was Vijay Singh’s first feature film, an adaptation of his earlier novel. It premiered in competition at the World Film Festival, Montreal, and then travelled to over 50 international festivals. The Guardian called it “a mesmerising film...One of the most authentic depictions of everyday Indian magic ever screened.” His second feature film, One Dollar Curry, was shot in Paris and released in France and the UK. It ran to full houses for several weeks in North India and was highly acclaimed by the press.

He was awarded the Leonardo da Vinci Award for the screenplay of Jaya Ganga, La Titine Best Film Award for his documentary Man and Elephant, and the Prix Villa Médicis hors les murs Award for foreign literature. He has also held workshops for film students on “Literature and Cinema” at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.