Raise Curtains
Visually wired from an early age, I arrived to the scene with an innate love for liberal arts. Born and raised in an academic household of achievers, I was the widest eyed kid in the class simply because I was able to imagine way more than I was told! While the talent added a lot of unwelcome melodrama, imagination soon evolved into indomitable passion and by age 12, it became clear that I wanted to make visuals my medium.
Flashback
With a background in English literature and a Post-graduation in Journalism, I was hired on- campus by NDTV – A professional journey that quickly turned into a 14-year long partnership where I produced over 700 episodes of non-fiction TV shows and bagged innumerable awards and laurels. I began this journey with ‘Just Books’ and within a year, was handling all editorial and reporting functions independently. ‘Just Books’ went on to become the longest running show based on books in the history of Indian Television – a record that remains unmatched – it won the Asian Television award for ‘Best Edutainment Show’ in its category for 2 years in a row and was eventually adapted into a book of the same name which is currently in its 5th print run. This seemed to be just the beginning as I was blessed enough to direct a slew of NDTV’s flagship shows across genres such as ‘Chhupa Rustam’ (Comedy), ‘Nokia Your Wish MyApp’ (Tech), ‘Meghalaya’ series (Travel) and the NDTV 25-year documentaries to name a few. Never the one to let go of my love for books, I facilitated the publishing of NDTV’s first-of- its-kind book titled “More News is Good News”, a collection of essays that encapsulates NDTV’s journey through the experiences of select correspondents, anchors, editors, camerapersons and producers.
Cross Dissolve
In 2016, I had the good fortune of directing NDTV’s first ever social experiment series, the award winning ‘What’s your choice’ anchored by Dr. Prannoy Roy and Ravish Kumar. While I continued to conceptualise, design content, set up teams and create a network of hidden theatre professionals all across India, each episode besides being an enviable broadcast success was becoming a raging hit digitally garnering 2 million views and 50k plus likes within hours of its launch.
Though the outer me was busy collecting accolades, the inner me knew that the question ‘What’s your choice’ (that I was throwing across to millions) will prove itself to be a double edged sword and one day soon will hit me too.
And then it happened……
Plot Twist
As a slave to the heart, I often found myself bewitched by the magnetism of the sustainability space in all its avatars. Before I knew, I was standing at the proverbial point of no return and everything I previously held dear paled in comparison to the new version of living and learning as I imagined it. The raft had left the shore with nothing more than enthusiasm for oars.
Transition
Today, I function as an independent filmmaker, drifting across the country marvelling at the magnificent human capacity for ecological entitlement. I conceptualise, script and direct video solutions with a special love for human stories. Currently am working on a research project geared to understand the perceptions and preparedness for climate change in the most vulnerable communities of India. While I focus my energy towards hand stitching impact pixel by pixel through my appropriately titled company – Handemadepxls.com
“the proverbial plot continues…”
Saiyam KhoslaFilmmaker, India