Questions

Did you receive any funding when applying for postgraduate study? How has it helped?

Yes, I received the Global Masters International Scholarship and India Chancellor’s Scholarship. The funding from the University has truly been a blessing. It significantly cemented my decision to pursue my Masters, by easing the burden on my tuition fees. Given the amount saved, I can focus entirely on my education and work towards curating and creating captivating content.

What do you hope to achieve during your postgraduate study at Birmingham?

The most important achievement I look forward to is creating long-lasting connections with my peers and meeting people who help inspire and build riveting narratives.

What are you looking forward to most on your course?

My main goal is to hone my skills and keep learning from the various accomplished staff, as well as my cohort who hail from various backgrounds and cultural identities. The exposure to industry-standard equipment is also a key element I look towards in enhancing my technical skills. Furthermore, I would love to build on my ability to create research-oriented narratives, which provide the ultimate viewing satisfaction for the viewers and myself, the creator.

What have been your first impressions of Birmingham so far?

As I prepared to embark on my journey to Birmingham, my mind raced with several thoughts – if I would fit in, will my opinions matter, will I be able to make friends, amongst others. All those thoughts were put to rest within the first few days of my living in this beautiful city. The most surprising thing is that I never felt that I had left behind my country – friends, family and culture, given the truly accommodating feel of Birmingham.

The minority-majority population lives up to its name of being wonderful people and hosts various cultural identities and backgrounds. From the food to the various accents, attire and more, the vibrancy is ever so evolving.

As a filmmaker, true human connections and stories are all I strive for, which again, this city graciously provides.

What was your motivation for postgraduate study?

My true motivation for my postgraduate study, as well as my interest in the visual arts, was set in motion by my reporting manager whilst I was interning at an app-based cab-hailing company during my Bachelor’s. Working towards boosting the engagement on the internal social media, I contributed towards a vox-pop-based show involving the employees and management. Armed with just the basics of editing and cinematography, the belief in my skills and the motivation from my manager helped me be more inquisitive about the field, and further my understanding of the landscape.

These skills evolved to help me lay a solid industry foundation whilst working for various organisations and clients over the years. Yet, I believed it was necessary to start back at the drawing board. My main focus was to strengthen my theoretical framework with the right proportion of practical know-how to traverse this diverse industry, ultimately leading me to explore postgraduate studies as the perfect avenue for my professional growth and development.

Tell us about yourself and your journey to postgraduate study.

I am an aspiring filmmaker focused on direction and editing as a career. After completing my Bachelor’s in Media and Communication, I took on the role of an Assistant Account Executive working for a Public Relations firm based in Bengaluru, India. This stint helped me truly understand various perspectives, from organizations of various verticals and the media industry which played an integral role in voicing their opinions and making their story heard.

While this experience did shape me for a future in the traditional media landscape, my passion for cinema and television guided me to a shift, into the visual arts. I landed a role as a Story Editor (Assistant Director) for an Indian captive reality show. Here is when I was completely enamoured by what the industry had to offer as I was totally in charge of the Production Control Room (PCR), directing the shots, calling for the right sounds to be queued in, reporting to the Creative Director amongst various other responsibilities in the rapidly changing live shoot environment.

This experience deepened my love for the visual arts, following which I took on various roles as a freelancer working for various clients. It was here, that I decided to pursue this passion and began preparing to look into my postgraduate studies.