Background
Agneya Singh was born in New Delhi, India on July 21, 1989. His mother is the journalist and political commentator Seema Mustafa.
Agneya Singh was born in New Delhi, India on July 21, 1989. His mother is the journalist and political commentator Seema Mustafa.
Tisch School of the Arts.
He is often identified with the revolutionary new wave of Indian cinema. His great grand uncle was the Indian freedom fighter Rafi Ahmed Kidwai. After working as a photographer and documentary filmmaker, Singh enrolled in New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
lieutenant was during this time that he assisted filmmaker Lynne Sachs and worked as a projectionist in the experimental Film/television department at New York University.
His student films and videos have been screened in New York at Anthology Film Archives. First Feature: M Cream
Singh wrote and directed the Indian independent feature film M Cream starring Imaad Shah, Ira Dubey, Barry John and Tom Alter among others
Shot on location in New Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, M Cream follows the exploits of four friends who set out in pursuit of a mythic drug. The journey serves to explore the myriad realities of rebellion and paints a compelling portrait of a new generation in India.
The film has continued to travel to several international festivals garnering both awards and critical acclaim.
Laurence Kardish, curator emeritus Museum of Modern Art commented:
A refreshing, vivid and occasionally delirious road trip of a film into Dharamsala, and beyond into the snowy mountains and canopied forests of Himachal Pradesh where four young and attractive millennials from New Delhi hope their treasure hunt for a fabled stimulant will end blissfully. Directed with verve and panache by New York University graduate Agneya Singh, M Cream, is not only a wildly promising debut feature film, but an eye-popping, propulsive and energetic hybrid of American independent and Bollywood filmmaking. Bollywood entertains millions of people, but for me, personally, I couldn"t really relate to the dreams and ideas in lieutenant
lieutenant"s really based on escapism.
And the fact of the matter is, we are living in turbulent times, and I think there"s an audience in India, and internationally as well, that wants to see the more realistic aspects of what"s happening in the country rather than the version of what we would like to believe. Singh has used the medium of cinema to raise awareness about social, political and environmental causes related to human rights.
In an interview with Livemint, he commented:
I think Gandhi was the perfect example of a revolutionary. He simply believed in the sanctity of life above all else.
Making this film was a cathartic process and I am left with the firm belief that non-violence is the answer.
Singh has also spoken in favor for the de-criminalization of marijuana and other controlled substances.
He cites the philosophy of Gandhism as a primary tool towards the realization of a non-violent revolution.