Shiv, though born in a film-family, was never interested to have a career in the media though he had a great interest in reading and the occult from an early age. So following his dream, he pursued a Bachelors of Science Degree in Hospitality Management from the esteemed Swiss school, “Les Roches” meaning “The Rocks” situated in the South-Western French speaking part of Switzerland in Canton Valais, in a sleepy Swiss village called Bluche (nearby to the famous ski-resort Crans-Montana). After learning how to do geridon service and brushing up his French culinary skills, Shiv returned to India to his family to take up the running of a family owned 50-room hotel, named Sagar Resort in Manali, Himachal Pradesh.

The swiss training and discipline helped him, and he managed to turn the property around from red to black. He then went on to pursue a Masters degree in business administration from the prestigious Indian School of Business (ISB) in Hyderabad (collaboration of Kellogg, Wharton Business and the London School of Business) graduating in 2004.

Post ISB, Shiv attempted and failed to set up a theme park in Haridwar based on the epics, Ramayan and Mahabharata on a family land on the banks of the River Ganga for which he raised $ 1million from NRI’s (non-resident Indians) including Alice Coltrane, the wife of the famous Jazz musician John Coltrane. In 2008, there was an television show being made by Sagar Arts, on the Vedic god, Saturn (Shani), who is the planet of Justice in the Hindu Astrology system. His father, Mr. Prem Sagar had written the script in 1992 during his Shani Mahadasha period but the script had failed to see the light. Shiv was 31 years old then, was looking for something interesting to do. He joined the team along with his father, as a Creative Producer on the project.

The show was being made for Turner Corporation’s GEC channel in India, NDTV Imagine. Shiv took to story telling and production like a duck to water. Maybe it was always in his genes and all he had to do was tap into this hidden talent of his. The show became an overnight success and topped the charts of the channel’s top shows and ran successfully for a period of 4 years. The number of Saturn temples went up by 400% in the entire country due to the impact of the show, that for the first time showed Shani in a positive light as planet of justice and punishment, versus a harsh planet that everyone was afraid of.

Post that Shiv did many a successful shows such as the famous, “Jai Jai Jai Bajrang Bali” on Sahara One channel that ran successfully as the Number 1 show on the channel for more than 800 episodes, and brought the GRP (cumulative ratings) of the channel up by 300%. He also creatively produced, “Kahani Vikram aur Vetaal ki” and “Jai Jag Janani Maa Durga” for Colors GEC channel. Shiv started to develop his flair for writing entertaining and hit content and learned the craft from other creative team members, his father and writers and research scholars. He developed his knowledge of the “Ithihas” and legends from India.

Further to pursuing his creative skills, Shiv did a short course in Film Direction from NYFA (New York Film Academy) and made a short film titled, “The End” which was a satirical take on the struggle of the Native American history and its portrayal in America. The short won the best short film in New Zealand Short Film Festival (2012) and The prestigious “Dada Saheb Falke Award” (2012).

He then returned to India and made his debut 3-D movie called “Aarasuri Maa Ambe” for the Gujarat Government based on the legends behind the Amba ji temple in Gujarat. The film was shot over a month with a 3-d Camera rig using two cameras in the Sagar studios in Gujarat as well as the Amba ji temple. Super Star, Shri Amitabh Bachchan was very kind to lend his voice to the film due to his devotion towards this particular shrine of the goddess.

Meanwhile, the mother company, Sagar Arts was dissolved, and Shiv founded a production company called Eastern Motion Pictures under which he produced a show for BIG Reliance Entertainment called “Narayan Narayan” a light hearted take on the cosmic communicator and sage, Narad Muni, who has always been loved for his wit and wisdom alike. The show was well received but faced issues with mixing the religious text and comedy into a deadly cocktail. Finally, Sagar World was set up by Shiv and Prem.

Shiv, recently wrote the screenplay for the “Jai Mata Vaishno Devi Ki” an 11 part web series based on the legends and folk tales of the goddess, Vaishno Devi, whose shrine in Katra, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, is a major pilgrimage center. He was also the creative director and producer for the series, the principal photography for which was finished in August 2021. Shot over 50 days in multiple locations in India, the series if the first attempt this genre on the OTT in India. Currently Shiv is working on a host of media projects including a film to be shot in Jammu and Kashmir State, multiple web series, a 3-d animation webseries and some themed entertainment centers.Shiv is also the founder of Tooth Mountain Farms in Karjat, an agro-tourism based Farm Stay with 7 rooms and a farm-to-table restaurant that he manages. Having a Gemini rising in his birth chart, he plays the dual role of a true mercurial Gemini of flitting between the media and hospitality sectors, sometimes even combining them together.

Ramanand sagar - An Epic Life Barsaat to Ramayan; The recently released biography of Late Dr. Ramanand Sagar by Westland publications, a branch of Amazon India is written by his son, Mr. Prem Sagar titled, An Epic Life Ramanand Sagar, From Barasaat to Ramayan. The poignant book contains the personal memoirs written by a devoted son for his loving and ideal father. It details the life of Ramanand Sagar (birth name Chandramouli) from his birth in a small place called Asal-Guruke near Lahore in Undivided India in the year 1917 to his journey as a human being and a writer as he was destined to make the Ramayana series at the ripe age of 70 years for which he achieved worldwide fame and recognition. It also traces back his ancestry to the early 17th century to a wealthy Punjabi Khastriya Chopra family from Peshawar (current day Pakistan) who migrated to the valleys of Kashmir and then to Mumbai to join the film industry. The book is about the legendary man who once worked as clerk and soap vendor, journeying to Bombay and writing his first film Barsaat which was a massive hit and several other silver jubilee hits like Ghunghat, Zindagi, Arzoo, Ankhen, Geet, Lalkar to making history with the creation of television History’s legendary RAMAYAN which as per BBC figures, had been viewed by over 650 million people worldwide of which, 40 million viewers regularly watched it on its first telecast.

The book was written after over 20 years of research and development. Mr. Prem Sagar had collected voice notes of conversations with his father when he was alive and also collected many rare and old photographs of the family, which became the base for the book. His Son, Shiv Sagar, did the research for the book. He interviewed over a 100 people including relatives, co-workers and friends who were still alive and had memories of “Papaji” to painstakingly put together this master piece.The unabridged Hindi version of the book which is the translation to Hindi was published by the publisher Prabhat Prakashan. It is titled as “Ramanand Sagar Ke Jeevan Ki Akath Kahani”. It contains many more photographs and more detailed biographical stories about the legend.

The Kapil Sharma Show celebrated 102 Years of Legendary Filmmaker Ramanand Sagar Prem Sagar presented An Epic Life: Ramanand Sagar, From Barsaat to Ramayan to Kapil Sharma. Capturing the magical moments and the legendary life of Ramanand Sagar, who first made his mark as a writer in Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat (1949), the award winning cinematographer and his son Prem Sagar unveiled a memoire of his father, ‘An Epic Life: Ramanand Sagar, From Barsaat to Ramayan’ published by Westland Publications (an Amazon Company), on one-of-the most loved shows of today, ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’. Presenting a copy of the book to the celebrated actor Kapil Sharma, Prem Sagar shared that how on 25 January 1987, with the telecast of the very first episode of Ramayan, Indian television changed for all time to come. In a matter of weeks, the series became a national obsession and more than three decades later, there has been nothing to match it.

From a clapper boy in the silent movie "Raiders of the Rail Road" in 1936, Dr. Ramanand Sagar rose to be a successful film maker, writer, director & producer, a powerful force to be reckoned with in the industry. He not only mastered the art of cinema, but also entertained the masses in the long run. The book reveals the sensitive truths-political, personal or miracles of Ramanand Sagar’s life journey and his divine mission of making the legendary TV serial Ramayan.

The episode was very widely seen by the audiences with a sense of nostalgia entailed with humor, buoyed by the captivating storytelling of Arun Govil, Deepika Topiwala, Sunil Lahiri and Prem Sagar as they shared their personal experiences from the sets of Ramayan in remembrance of the late Ramanand. It was telecasted on March 7th at 9.30 pm on Sony TV just before the nation-wide lockdown during which the epic series Ramayan was again telecasted, once again breaking all records of viewership.

Ramanand Sagar Foundation (RSF) is a non-profit company registered in Mumbai, India. In a deep desire to take forward the ideals and vision of the film-maker, writer, visionary and humanist – Late Dr. (lit.) Ramanand Sagar, RSF was set up by the heirs of “Papaji” (commonly used name by friends and family). Spear-headed by his fourth son, Mr. Prem Sagar and his family, RSF wishes to take the vision and mission of “Papaji” of a new, vibrant, confident India, that is able to learn from its past leaving out what is not relevant in it, that can become a central figure on the world stage, and based on its ancient culture and its teachings make the world a better place to live in.

Papaji witnessed the death of his first wife and first born son at a tender age of 18. When he was 30 years old, he suffered from tuberculosis, and had a close shave with death. He lost all fear of death after experiencing near-death situations to near and close ones. He developed “Sakshi Bhav” or “witness consciousness”, at an early age. This was the main philosophy of his life. To be in a constant state of meditation all the time. To be watching everything but objectively and with complete awareness. To be objective and subjective at the same time. Forever seeped in consciousness. RSF is involved in various communities activities in a tribal village called Hatnoli (8 kms from Karjat) in the Raigad District, situated in between Mumbai and Pune. They also have a research wing, where scholarships are given for research on topics of occult and mystical sciences. Woman empowerment to the local adi-vasi villagers and training them to become self-reliant by learning an occupation. Health camps are conducted free of cost from time to time. Also there are plans to build a Ram Temple and a museum on the late Ramanand Sagar here with his books, artifacts and memories, for visitors to come and experience his great life.