Rajiv Mehrotra is an Indian writer, television producer-director, documentary film maker, a personal student of the Dalai Lama for whom he manages as Trustee/Secretary The Foundation for Universal Responsibility (www.furhhdl.org) established with the Nobel Peace Prize. He is best known as the former acclaimed host of one of India's longest running talk shows on public television, "In Conversation", that has been through several incarnations over more than twenty years, aired on the India's National broadcaster, Doordarshan News Channel, Saturdays at 9.30 pm.
As a documentary film maker, producer, and commissioning editor his 650 films have won 50 national awards from the president of India and more than 285 national and international awards. They have had more than 1500 film festival screenings around the world from Berlin, Chicago, and Rotterdam to Mumbai, Qatar, and Yamagata. Three of his documentary films have been archived by the Motion Picture Academy of America, well known for presenting the Oscars. He has authored nine books that have been published in 50 editions and languages. They are primarily on spirituality, most notably Conversations with The Dalai Lama, Thakur – a biography of Sri Ramakrishna and Mind of The Guru. He was a student of the late Swami Ranganathananda, president of The Ramakrishna Mission and of the iconic Yoga teacher BKS Iyengar. He serves as the founder and managing trustee of The Public Service Broadcasting Trust (www.psbt.org) and till recently chairman of The Media Foundation (www.thehoot.org)
Rajiv Mehrotra has twice addressed plenary sessions of the World Economic Forum who elected him a Global Leader for Tomorrow. He was a judge of the Templeton Prize, typically presented by Prince Philip in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The monetary value of the prize is adjusted so that it exceeds that of the Nobel Prizes, as Templeton felt "spirituality was ignored" in the Nobel Prizes. He was educated at La Martiniere, Calcutta; St Stephen's College, Delhi and the Universities of Oxford & Columbia.
Early life and education
Rajiv Mehrotra did his schooling from La Martiniere Calcutta, and later studied at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Oxford University and received his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Film Direction from Columbia University in 1981. While in school he twice won the Best Speakers Award at the National Public Schools Debating Competition, was editor of the School Magazine and a lead actor in school productions; at Stephen's he was Secretary of The Shakespeare Society, The English Literary Society and the Cine Club and Acting President of the Students Union; at Oxford University he directed several plays including Othello, Shrivings (Peter Shaffer), The Shrew (Marowitz) and Tughlaq (Girish Karnad) as a director for the prestigious Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club at the professional Oxford Playhouse. At Columbia University he worked with the Oscar-winning film director Miloš Forman and won scholarships from the INLAKS Foundation & UNESCO.
Career
Mehrotra today manages, as the honorary secretary/trustee, The Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,.<ref>Board of Trustees The Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness The Dalai Lama.</ref> and is the founder and managing trustee of The Public Service Broadcasting Trust (www.psbt.org)[ He was trustee of the Norbulingka Institute of Tibetan Culture, the Navdanya Trust. He was till recently chairman of The Media Foundation that administers the Chameli Devi Awards for Journalism and a media watch dog website The Hoot (www.hoot.com) He has been a close personal student of His Holiness The Dalai for nearly thirty years.
Mehrotra has published several books, including The Mind of The Guru, Understanding The Dalai Lama, The Essential Dalai Lama, "Thakur" a biography of Sri Ramakrishna all by Penguin/ Viking, The Open Frame Reader – on the Indian documentary was published by Rupa. Recently published is a new revised and expanded edition of The Mind of The Guru by Hay House and due early next year, is a book on creativity: The Spirit of The Muse, 2009 also saw the publication of "In My Own Words" by the Dalai Lama edited by Rajiv Mehrotra and "Conversations with The Dalai Lama on Life, Living & Happiness" both by Hay House, USA. He is working on a spiritual biography of His Holiness The Dalai Lama