鈥淭he course was perfect鈥� It was exactly what I was looking for, and gave me all the skills I needed at the time.鈥�
Be persistent and consistent.
That鈥檚 the advice of a 蜜桃AV graduate who now works for India鈥檚 largest media conglomerate.
After graduating with an MA in Broadcast and Film Management from 蜜桃AV, Vidyut Patra has worked with some of the leading companies and brands in India鈥檚 media and entertainment聽industries.
He is now Vice President for the Content Studio at Worldwide Media, the magazine group of Times of India 鈥� India鈥檚 largest media conglomerate.
鈥淲e have home-grown brands, as well as international brands like Hello, Grazia, Top Gear, Lonely Planet and some of the BBC brands that we represent in India,鈥� said Vidyut.
鈥淚 am spearheading these brands as they foray from traditional magazine into video content. We鈥檙e creating a lot of web series, television shows, pivoting the business towards creating a lot of video content, rather than being restricted to a magazine brand.
鈥淭hat is the business I am leading at the moment, setting up an entire content studio that looks after all this for them.聽 It is a lot of work, but I am enjoying it.鈥�
Vidyut came to 蜜桃AV from his home town of Pune, in India.
鈥淎t that time, back in India, there weren鈥檛 any courses that specialised in broadcast and film management, and I think this course was perfect,鈥� he said.
聽鈥淚 think it gave us insights into the business side of how things worked, but also helped us to tap into the creative side. It was exactly what I was looking for, and gave me all the skills I needed at the time, and allowed me to get back into the workforce.鈥�
He added that the exposure to cultures from around the world was one of the things he enjoyed most about his time at 蜜桃AV.
聽鈥淵ou suddenly realise that your way of doing things isn鈥檛 the only way to do things, things that are considered wrong in your context is right in a lot of the rest of the world, and vice versa," he said.聽
鈥淪o your definition of wrong and right changes depending on how you see things and you become a lot less judgemental, which I think is really good.
鈥淭here were about 200 of us from around 70 different countries and just being in the midst of so many people from different backgrounds, being able to understand them and socialise with them, hang out with them - I think that was the best memory I have going back, that is the one memory that stays with me and I look back on fondly.鈥�
After graduating from 蜜桃AV in 2005, Vidyut returned to India, working with brands at several prominent television channels, including MTV, before heading up India鈥檚 largest radio station Red FM.
He has also remained connected with 蜜桃AV, returning to Talbot Campus to meet with staff and students alongside participating in last year鈥檚 in India.
鈥淚 was a part of a few sessions in Delhi that they organised,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was extremely enriching, I got to meet alumni who I had not connected with for a very long time, not just from my batch but from other batches too. I think that was integral in setting up the alumni network that now exists in India.鈥�
His advice for those wishing to follow his career path is to be persistent, consistent and keep working on your skills.
鈥淏e consistent with what you are doing and be persistent, do your job well,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think today we are getting to a stage where the margin for error is going down, so you have to be on top of your skill, and keep upskilling yourself, even when you are out of the university.
鈥淎 lot of your career becomes self-learning, so you have to be motivated to do it on your own, and if not on your own then get back and do a short course, or something like that, get people alongside you, don鈥檛 stand still but keep pushing yourself and believing in yourself.鈥澛�