Santosh Sivan is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam cinema, Tamil cinema, and bollywood.[2] Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India  and has to date completed 45 feature films and 41 documentaries. He is the founding member of the South Indian Society of Cinematographers and is the most awarded Director of Photography in India. Santosh became the first Cinematographer in the Asia-Pacific region to be honored with American Society of Cinematographers membership. As a cinematographer, he on five National Film Awards – including four for Best Feature Film Cinematography. As of 2014, he has received eleven National Film Awards, and twenty one international awards for his works. In 2014, He was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian cinema.