2021 VOLUME 04 | ISSUE 05
Impactful
Individuals in Indian The
Industry
IMPACTFUL BUSINESS
How to create an impact in this fast-paced business world? WFH STREAMLINED
Steps to remain professional in the work-from-home environment
Chinmay
Udgirkar
www.insightssuccess.in
Editor’s Note W
hat do you think makes a person impactful? Is it their intelligence, personality, or the position they hold? Then again, does an individual have to hold a certain position or be in a certain sector to create an impact? Think again.
IMPACTING MILLIONS
“I’ve always had a philosophy that position doesn’t define power. Impact defines power. What impact are you making on people? What impact are you making on business?” Mindy Grossman, CEO of WW International says. It is true with ‘impact’ becoming a buzzword these days from your day’s work to the presence of your company in the niche market you and people around expect a certain impact in every action you take and decision you make. And to make such kind of impact to influence people with energy and positivity one doesn’t need to hold a certain position, or belong to a specific industry, or project themselves on a particular platform. You can make an impact when you greet a shy colleague with a smile or lend an ear to your distressed friend. These and more such examples show that the impact we all make and seek around us is not limited to our position, niche, or company size. More or less, we all can and do influence people, the economy, and the environment with our actions positively or negatively.
Darshan Parmar Managing Editor
darshan@insightssuccess.com
People in every role and individuals and businesses in every sector through their work, management strategy, and philosophy do their bits to create an impact. Now the question is, how you can take this influence on the next level to touch more lives? When you feel stuck, be it creating a dream life, building a successful career, or making an impact, what path you choose? You simply find inspiration around you. You read about stories of successful people, get inspired by their struggles, and find your way forward. You also notice the core qualities of these successful individuals and the ways you can inculcate them. Talking about impactful individuals you will notice these core qualities in them that make all the difference. Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ
They dedicate to following the meaningful purpose of their life. They commit to continuous learning and improving themselves. They engage with people with an open mind. They embrace positive criticism. They invest time and energy not in what already is but what better they can make of the situation. They spread the light of knowledge, laughter, and inspiration. They uplift others with them.
Ÿ Ÿ
They view their journey as a learning experience. They use their power and influence positively.
The latest edition of Insights Success ‘Impactful Individuals in The Indian Industry’ features such impactful individuals who by depicting these core behaviors have influenced thousands of people and made an impact on millions.
Cover Story
CO NT EN TS 08
Chinmay
Udgirkar THE ACTIVIST, THE THINKER, AND THE ACTOR
16
18
26
Ashwineya Raut
Hrishikesh Avinash Wadekar
Maharrsh Shah
A Dedicated Fitness Model Transforming the Fitness Space
A Fashion Influencer with a Zeal to Change the World
A Creative Storyteller Passionate about the Film and Entertainment Industry
30
34
42
Pradeep Kumar Jain
Simran Tapadia
Sohel Sanwari
Dabbling in the Legal Space Since 2002
Illustrating Positive Impact in Graphic Designing Space
Telling Impactful Stories through Sound Design
44
Articles 22
38
Impactful Business
WFH Streamlined
How to create an impact in this fast-paced business world?
Steps to Remain Professional in the Work-From-Home Environment
Suryakant Rout Crafting Life into Garments through Creativity and Dedication
Editor-in-Chief Sumita Sarkar Managing Editor Darshan Parmar
sales@insightssuccess.com
Assisting Editor Ananda Kamal Das
APRIL, 2021
Contributing Writers Ashish, Vrushali, Renuka
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Featured Person
Brief
Ashwineya Raut
Ashwineya Raut is a renowned martial artist, fitness model, and a gold medalist in fitness.
Chinmay Udgirkar
Chinmay Udgirkar is an Indian actor. He debuted with a reality show called Maharashtra’s Superstar in 2009-2010.
Hrishikesh Wadkar
Hrishikesh has appeared in shows like Next Top Model, Mr. Pune 2020, and Mr. Maharashtra. He was awarded India’s Best Upcoming Talent of the Year 2021 by Global Icon Awards. The Brand Opus awarded him for the Best Upcoming Talent in Maharashtra in the Fashion and Modelling Industry.
Maharrsh Shah
Maharrsh Shah is the Creative Producer & Lead (Films & Series- Fiction), Condé Nast India. He is also a former Creative Director-Films (Jio Studios) and Creative Director (Originals), Times Studio.
Pradeeep Kumar Jain Pradeep Kumar Jain is Managing Partner of Singhania & Co. LLP
Simran Tapadia
Simran has started a series on her Instagram handle (@tapsiiee), where she has been posting watercolour paintings and pixel art animation with a message to stay positive.
Sohel Sanwari
Sohel Sanwari is a veteran freelancer sound designer, who has captivated the audience through excellent sound designing and editing.
Suryakant Raut
Suryakant Rout is spearheading his home furnishing brand known as ‘ikat’.
Impactful
Individuals in Indian The
Industry
Cover Story
Chinmay
Udgirkar THE ACTIVIST, THE THINKER, AND THE ACTOR
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I was never worried about whether people loved me or not. It was always about whether I performed well or not.
D
uring the entire month of Shravan, you see him walking barefoot. You spot him planting saplings during green drives. You see him walking along the banks of River Godavari in Nashik with environment activists who are fighting against river pollution and for river rejuvenation. You see him on the small and big screen displaying his talent. Actor Chinmay Udgirkar has many facets to his personality. When he was made the ambassador of River Godavari rejuvenation project by environment activists, he asserted that he would work for the cause of the river as a volunteer and not as a celebrity just for namesake or for the sake of a face to the cause. His take on this was that he grew up in the city of Godavari, spent his formative years and youth by the banks of the pristine and then clean river, hence he owed it to Mother Godavari. On the professional front he discovered his passion by chance. Never did this mischievous little boy or his welleducated family dream that what started off on stage during Ganesh Utsav would become his passion and career. From the mischievous little boy to a commendable and versatile Marathi actor, Chinmay Udgirgar’s journey and transformation has been fascinating. His persistent efforts to keep on improving himself on the personal, professional and social front has been remarkable. Today, he is a youth icon. Traversing down the memory lane, Chinmay shares, “I had the inclination towards acting since childhood. It all began with Ganesh Utsav when I was in class IV. Our society used to organise very good community Ganesh Festival where public/open competitions were held. I portrayed the central character Bandu, in a very nice one-act play, Banducha
Abhyas. Since childhood I was very mischievous and so was Bandu’s character. Hence, I could portray the character naturally. And that was the first time that I was appreciated for my work. Till then I was looked upon as a very mischievous boy.” With ‘Bandu’ being recognised, Chinmay felt proud of himself for being appreciated. It was then that he decided to participate in plays as much as he could. He started taking part in inter-school drama competitions and bagged many prizes. The prizes encouraged him. “I realised that acting fetched me prizes and appreciation. Then for the sake of appreciation I began acting in more plays. I began getting chance for solo competitions as well. Confidence soared high due to the prizes. Gradually, I felt that I should take acting seriously and should get formal training in acting. There was an organisation in Nashik, Swapnashala, run by Vivek Garud. I took admission in that institute and started learning to act,” Chinmay reflects. When he was in standard X, he discontinued acting for a brief period, but it remained at the back of his mind. After passing standard XII, he took admission in law college so that he could pursue acting because in law college lectures were not compulsory. “I began spending lot of time in Pravin Kalokhe’s Genius organisation and became active in parallel theatre. There I did lot of plays – Aamcha Var Kon Prem
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When I started working for Godavari my personal problems, family issues, career problems began getting resolved automatically. Karnar, Rakta Pushp, Buddhibai Jhabbu, to name a few. These plays received good appreciation on experimental theatre and my name also began to be recommended as a good actor from Nashik,” he recollects fondly. While learning to act in plays at Genius, he became used to taking theatre/plays seriously. It became an inseparable part of his life and he realised that acting was his hobby and that what he used to do to get appreciation from people became a passion. “I could see myself only as an actor. I could not see myself as a doctor, an engineer or as anything else. So, I decided to make my career in acting. But with no family background in acting, I was apprehensive about how to get into the industry, whether I should venture into it in the first place, should I take the risk and how I should go about it. I, therefore, decided to continue with theatre and wait for destiny to give me the opportunity to work in serials and films,” said Chinmay. His family though supportive, put forth a condition that he should complete his degree in law first. He obeyed them and completed the five-year law course while simultaneously acting in theatre. “And I was so lucky that things turned out in my favour, just like Shah Rukh Khan’s dialogue in the Hindi film Om Shanti Om – “When the desire is strong enough, the entire universe conspires to give you what you want”. I completed
my law degree and there was this reality show called Maharashtracha Super Star in Zee TV where I was called for audition. I got selected among the first 24 contestants and performed as per the requirement of the show. I got eliminated in the last round. It hit me hard that I was eliminated because I could not perform as expected. I felt bad particularly because I was doing very well in parallel theatre but was rejected at the commercial platform. This made me think very seriously about what improvement I needed. While giving auditions once again, I got a role in Star Pravaha’s Swapnacha Palikade. It was a mega hit that time. It went on for four years. Shreyas Patkar’s character became so popular that people even now know me as Shreyas. Then immediately I got Nanda Saukhya Bhare and Ghadge & Suun. In nine years, I did these three serials back-to-back. All the three serials super-duper hit. While doing Swapnacha Palikade I got a role in the film, Shyamcha Wadil for which I bagged the best debutant award. I also got the confidence of working on big screen,” shared the versatile actor. In a span of nine years, he worked in three serials and six films in variety of roles. He began to be recognised as a versatile actor. The journey became even more interesting for this actor who was finally getting roles that he desired. “Now I am into web series. Tik Tak To web series was released recently. It got good response from the audience. I did a film last year, Prem Vari which bagged good reviews. Recently, I did a film with Rinku Rajguru, Makeup which was appreciated very well. Besides, the film Gulab Jal with Sonali Kulkarni also got good reviews,” said the bubbly actor. Content with whatever came his way he emphasised that he was making slow and steady progress, climbing the ladder step by step. Since Chinmay’s family has no background in the entertainment industry, his family had made it clear to him – Whatever you are doing, accept it with all loopholes. What you have in your career today, you may not have tomorrow. So, you should be able to withstand it. You have to maintain mental fitness for battling your emotional struggles.
But Chinmay was determined to prove himself and make himself and his family proud. The pressures that he faced were different from others. Elaborating on this he said, “Being from a well-to-do family, I never had the stress of earning for bread and butter. Basic survival was never the problem. But I wanted to do something at par with the calibre of my family. My mother is a lawyer, my father a banker and older brother an engineer. They were all wellsettled. If I did not rise up to their level, then there would be no logic for me to make a career in this field. This was a different kind of pressure for me. I had to get good work always. I did not have any excuse. Or else I would be a misfit in my family.” The actor revealed that initially, he used to feel extremely pressurised but gradually he understood how to release that tension and how to focus on work and the outcome is here for all to see. The journey was no cakewalk for Chinmay. It was constant hard work through ups and downs while making his career and progressing in it, perfecting his performance, working towards his personal development. “In my field, one has to constantly confront oneself everyday being faced with a new role. I have to always check if there is anything similar in me to the character that I am playing. This made me realise the loopholes very easily. Earlier I used to be scared of those loopholes. I was doubtful if I would be able to overcome them. I began getting frustrated. I had a feeling that I would go into depression. But then I realised that unless I accepted myself the way I am I will not be able to improve on myself,” said the actor. Now, while doing every role he realises his loopholes and immediately begins working on it. Owing to this he realised that after working on these loopholes a little bit of self-talk can work wonders. Fear, complexes, mental blocks, insecurities gradually disappeared. The transformation that happened then went a long way in transforming his entire personality. From a mischievous child, to an impulsive youngster he became a composed person ready to face anything that came his way, calmly. “Whatever problems I had about relationships and other conflicts went away...meaning, I became free. This freedom reflected in my performances as well and I began feeling very content with this freedom. So, I was never worried about whether
Getting into skin of character was, however, difficult initially for him. Every project that he did he felt that the character was difficult. But his constant pursuit of selfdevelopment helped him get into the skin of the character, no matter how different it was from the other characters. “The character, Shreyas Patkar was a chawl resident while in Nanda Saukhya Bhare, the character I played was exactly opposite. He was from a rich family. In Ghadge & Suun the hero was introvert and he turned up doing things in a way he never planned. While doing all these roles I felt that these characters were nowhere close to my nature,” admitted Chinmay. He had his own fears of being rejected due to repetition as in daily soaps, the actors are seen every day and Chinmay has been doing daily soaps for nine years. He used to worry if people would get bored of seeing the same thing again and again and consequently reject him. “But when I started seeing myself in each character and working on the loopholes, I focused on my satisfaction with my work. When I started doing everything happily, people started loving the role and began liking me more,” said a composed Chinmay. The dedicated actor is a die-hard environment activist and deep into spirituality. Sharing his love for the environment and spiritual inclination, he says that his family was always spiritual. He was always taught - Whatever you do, look within. “So, during those days of frustration and struggle when I was not getting roles on the screen, I used to act on the stage. I was also studying law then. I used to go to the banks of Godavari River with my friends. By the side of the holy Ramkund we used to discuss about our struggles, we would dream of getting good work and River Godavari was a witness to all this. It was as though she was listening. It may sound silly but when I got acting offers in Mumbai, I
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“
people loved me or not. It was always about whether I performed well or not. With this being realised, I became joyful. My career now is all about love, passion, happiness, and satisfaction,” said Chinmay.
You need to introspect seriously before it is too late, instead of getting carried away
felt Godavari that meets the sea in Mumbai must have conveyed the message to it to give me a break since I am her child,” Chinmay shares with passion and devotion both. He reveals that he used to always bow down to Godavari every time and was aware that he had to give back to the river since he owed a lot to Her. “But I got the opportunity to work for Godavari when environmentalist Rajesh Pandit approached me. It was the onset of Kumbh Mela in 2014-15 and they were planning to observe Harit Kumbh (Green Kumbh). He asked if I would work for it and I told him that I would work as an activist not as a celebrity. While working for Green Kumbh project I met Magsaysay Award Winner and India’s Waterman Rajendra Singh from whom I learnt the mantra - When you work for Mother Nature, she takes care of you. And I experienced it. When I started working for Godavari my personal problems, family issues, career problems began getting resolved automatically. So, my faith in this work strengthened even more. From what started with cleaning the river, we are now we in the process of rejuvenating it so that water flows continuously,” Chinmay said. He elaborated that there are natural springs in the riverbed which have been concealed with concrete and this restricts the flow of water. “Hence it was essential to remove the concrete and we won this case. Natural ponds and streams will rejuvenate when the aquifers are free of the concrete.” The spiritual environment in his family prompted him to walk bare feet during the month of Shravan. “It is said that one should not wear footwear in Shravan. During Chatur Maas one should not consume onion and garlic. I feel all these things should be experimented to
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With age and maturity my attention is more into my inner self. I can say I have become positively introvert
strengthen our minds. Hence, it was not due to religious belief or blind faith that I observe such practices. I decided to check for a one month if I could manage without wearing footwear and during Shravan no one will even question me. You should be able to get rid of the shame and inhibitions of your mind because tomorrow any adverse situation may arise. It is we who put barriers in our minds that we cannot do a certain thing. I had also planned to use one bucket of water every day for one year for my daily activities and I was able to do it,” shared the actor. He has been doing different experiments since the past 5-6 years. It all started after he read Mahatma Gandhi’s book My Experiments with Truth. He began experimenting a lot on himself because he loved the idea. For one month every year, he does such experiments and every experience gives him a different kind of satisfaction, most importantly, it has taught him to keep his mind under control. An ardent reader, traveller and movie buff, Chinmay decided not to go to sleep unless he reads at least for 15 minutes no matter how late it is in the night. “Of late, I also started reading astrology, tarot, numerological science and all that our Indian culture has given to us. I have started studying these sciences as a hobby,” Chinmay shared. Describing himself in the tarot language, he said that there is a card in Tarot called Hermit which he identifies with. It is a man with a lamp in his hand in the dark.
“I feel that of late I changed. Earlier I used to react to everything. Now with age and maturity my attention is more into my inner self. Some things are not in our hands. For example, the other day an aunt, a family friend passed away. I was very close to her. Soon a family doctor who used to treat me since childhood, passed away. The external reaction would have been - How and Why this happened. I should have been devastated, los,t disturbed but I accepted the fact in the face of such tragedies that this is going to happen to everyone. I can say I have become positively introvert,” the actor said. He feels that today’s youth are more into 4 G, 5G, 6G….and are moving very fast to keep pace with the fastpaced world and lifestyle in general. With technology, the world has come very close and people feel like discovering new things every day but in the process, they fail to realise that they are completely lost and what they exactly want. “I feel that without any reason we have unknowingly created a competition. I want to give only one message to the youth – are you truly happy/content with the speed with which you are running about? Are you peaceful? You need to introspect seriously before it is too late, instead of getting carried away. Life was very peaceful during our parent’s time. After graduation, people took up a job in a bank or private office. Now the thirst is to earn more. By the time you achieve what you wanted you cannot enjoy it because many things would have been lost by then. For 10 years I am working continuously in the industry. I earned a name but lost many things. I lost many friends, gave up some hobbies. I used to go out in the open and have fun, eat paani puri with friends, play pranks which made me happy I miss all these,” admitted Chinmay. He urges the youth not to fall prey to this fast life because the world will move according to their speed. Even the learned said - You are the world. So do not get carried away. If you peaceful the world will be peaceful. If you in hurry, the world will be in a hurry. “So do not get into the mad rush, do not get into the competition created by parents, do not lose inner peace. Work on your mind for 20 minutes by meditating just like you work on your body,” he signs off.
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Ashwineya Raut 16 | APRIL 2021
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A Dedicated Fitness Model Transforming the Fitness Space
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I wake up EVERY DAY to make a DIFFERENCE Ashwineya Raut
Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
S
ome people are destined to write their own success story. They possess nerves of steel and the indomitable will to overcome every obstacle and achieve their goal. They are calm, confident, and relentless at the same time. These dedicated personalities give their very best in every task they take up. They never give up during difficult situations and ensure that they provide the audience with lasting experiences. One such pragmatic personality who is making waves in the Indian fitness and modeling industry is Ashwineya Raut. He is a renowned martial artist, fitness model, and a gold medalist in fitness. In an interview with Insights Success, Ashwineya shares about his journey, various challenges throughout his career, and his future plans. Brief our audience about your journey as a fitness model. From childhood, I started workouts like joining different styles of martial arts classes, wrestling, mardani khel, etc. So that fitness became very important part in my life. After 10th, I started to going at gym. While pursuing my graduation I decided to make modeling and fitness field as my profession and for that I started to do various national and international courses as well as gathered precious knowledge through so many people who was already in this profession. This hunger of knowledge and curiosity creates fitness and modeling industry as my profession. Who is your source of inspiration? Whom do you consider as your role model? It’s actually difficult to take names of selective people, because there are so many people, so many legends who keep inspiring me. Bruce lee and my teachers/coaches inspire the most to wake up every day and keep making a difference, and obviously my progress also. What are the challenges that you have faced throughout your career? As a model, we must have to face so many challenges like we must have to maintain good physique all the time, most of the time we can't eat what others eat like fast food, chats, or even chapati also. We must have to follow diet all the time. Our skin, hair, gesture must have to take up to the mark. Always research and being active in industry for new revolutions and what companies expect from us.
Apart from that, I still remember that while my struggling period, I faced lots of fake people and companies, foundations etc. They show you shining opportunity and insure you that, how you'll have bright future if you work for them and all and for that they demand money as their charges or in terms of fees. But after spending big amount they wipe out or give various reasons and excuses and always ignore you until you get to know that you have been cheated and you stop asking them. This is very big problem I think nowadays; every model once faced this kind of situation in their life. How has the pandemic impacted the fitness and modeling field? How have you tackled the pandemic situation? The current pandemic does not affect much in modeling field; we can take shoots from home or on digitally as well, gives interview, doing promotions on social media etc. But if I talk about fitness industry, this pandemic affects a lot. Gyms were closed since long time, if it gets chance to open then lots of precaution, rules and time limit must have to face. Most of gym places are hiring on rent then staff payment, trainers, light bills etc. I found so many good gyms are getting closed due to this pandemic. What are your strategies to grow and learn? I think whatever experience, knowledge you have you must have to share to those who really need it. You should guide or help new comers and beginners for their good future and always be happy and makes others too. What is your mantra of success? For me always being down to earth and you have to finding more and more information and never forget the continuously learning process. Finding more ways to grow yourself as well as your opportunities this is more essential. Do you have any advice for the young generation? Never lose your hopes. If you have passion, you must have to protect your dreams. Forget about time and difficulties just enjoy the process. Try to help others, always be motivated and love your passion. Where do you see yourself in the future? What are your upcoming plans? I'm looking myself as an international athlete, a champion in fitness industry and a good gentleman. If I motivate at least one person then I guess I achieve a lot according to me.
APRIL 2021 | 17
Hrishikesh
Avinash Wadekar
A Fashion Influencer with a Zeal to Change the World
18 | APRIL 2021
Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
F
ashion influencers have become the buzz word today. From advertisements in the print, broadcast, and electronic media to the present-day social media rage, fashion influencers seem to have come to age in the real sense. Social media has proved to be the biggest tool to generate the right kind of fans and a whopping number at that. Fashion influencers today have many followers on social media than their counterparts of the yesteryears and in the not-so-recent past.
We, at Insights Success, spotted one such fashion influencer who has been making waves in the social media platforms and has a huge fan following. The personality in focus is Hrishikesh Avinash Wadekar. After completing his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and learning various languages like English, German, Sanskrit, Hindi, and Marathi, Hrishikesh worked for various brands like OMG Labs and US square Media for various projects, catalogue shoots, banners, and posters. He campaigned for JFZ business and has done shoots for festivals like Diwali, Holi, and others. Hrishikesh also appeared in shows like Next Top Model, Mr. Pune 2020, and Mr. Maharashtra. He was awarded India’s Best Upcoming Talent of the Year 2021 by Global Icon Awards. The Brand Opus awarded him for the Best Upcoming Talent in Maharashtra in the Fashion and Modelling Industry. The fashion influencer spoke to us at length about his journey. Following are the highlights of the interview What inspires you to wake up every day and keep making a difference in the respective industry you are catering to? Firstly, I believe in being a good human. Humanity stands tall for me. I have seen my mother, my father, and my grandparents always balancing their professional and social lives together. My father, inspite of being an educator and businessman has always looked after socially underprivileged sections. My mother has always been socially active and thus made me believe in doing something good for society, no matter what I became in my personal life.
As a leader/personality in your field, what challenges have you faced? Being a young entrepreneur, my age has always been an issue. People stare with disbelief assuming that youngsters lack experience and this makes things difficult for us. But somehow, these challenges have always made me stronger. I have been trying to turn these situations into a positive atmosphere. Also, the problems vary from city to city. In a city like Pune, despite being always charismatic and enthusiastic, providing the best content and services is a challenge. I am still learning every day. Tell us more about your professional lifestyle. I have been curious about almost all fields. I have tried many photoshoots, advertisements, campaigns. Along with this, I have been a part of major educational projects as well. I have been a part of an organisation named Erfolg, where we have made students aware of the importance of foreign language and also train them for interview skills. Apart from this, I am involved with an NGO named Era, where we have worked for underprivileged kids. We teach them basic subjects like English and science. How has the current pandemic affected your business and what steps have you taken to safeguard your employees while catering to your clients? This pandemic has shocked every one of us. I have always been a positive person. Somehow, I have always taken negative vibes in positive ways. This pandemic affected me just like any other individual in the world. But as mentioned earlier, I have been taking care of all my employees from day one. My father always suggested me to pay everyone’s salaries on time even if we suffer losses in our business. I followed his advice. We also took some measures such as daily sanitisation, vaccination of employees and provided them some health insurance. What creative ways have you employed to make the work environment of your company vibrant? I believe in happy and healthy work environment. I have always paid attention to my employees and their mind-set. Just to ensure the same, we have incorporated some techniques such as fun Friday activities, Monday discussions etc. All my employees enjoy their work and personal life at the same time. In our office we have a room that is very colourful, for brainstorming. It enhances ideas as soon as
APRIL 2021 | 19
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Loyalty and hard work Is a bridge to being A responsible and Successful business leader
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20 | APRIL 2021
someone walks in. There is one meeting room where we have decided to keep a round table, just for ensuring that everyone can give their opinion at the same time. According to you, what are the essentials of being a responsible business leader? Loyalty and hard work both stand together in being a responsible and successful business leader. I have always observed employees helping the company even in bad times if the leader and management are honest enough. We can never achieve a successful business partnership if we fail to be a good leader. Leadership does not mean only speeches and motivational quotes, but equal inputs and hard work just like the other employees. What would you like to share with the young generation of entrepreneurs who are looking to step into a leadership role in their respective businesses? Being myself and doing what I have been doing from an early age, I believe just to be updated is not enough. Yes, we do need new ways of working and trends to always be in limelight. But at the same time, honesty and hard work are the values that can take you to places. Listening to elders at times and incorporating new ideas simultaneously is the key to success in the new business world. In terms of future growth, where do you see yourself? I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur, who is known for his ideas and values rather than his money-oriented business. Money is important, but at the end of the day, how and why you earn money should be a reason for others to live too. I believe in being a millionaire with some new
approaches yet with old values. What is the mantra to climb the corporate ladder dynamically? The professional world is very different and yet full of adventures. What you do in your personal life or what has been going on in your personal life has nothing to do with your professional or corporate life. This takes time. I think being practical and yet being sensible and sensitive is important. I have seen some of my close friends and family members who work like corporate slaves and robots. That is not enough. Emotions play an important role. Just to achieve something professionally, you do not have to give up your sensitive mind. Always being able to see the welfare of others and helping each other to achieve their goals is also important. People of then misunderstand this. They believe in working 24*7 and having no personal or social life. But balancing all can help us in being successful in corporate life. Always learning new things, communicating with new minds, not discussing someone else’s failure in personal or business life is important. I look at the corporate ladder as a part of my own life and not just as a challenge. Taking every single step like hard work, patience and responsibility is important than just jumping from one to another. Being able to see our own flaws and able to justice others is also important. In the end, success comes to those who have seen and worked very hard and not just to someone who is being arrogant and ignorant to others.
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How to
create an impact in this
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fast-paced
Impactful Business
business world? E
ffectiveness lies in recognizing the determined goals of your business by doing the things righteously, whereas proficiency is achieving them with minimal measure of time and cost-effectively by doing things precisely. Designed strategies and proposed plans intended to maintain a business, which specifically relies upon the changing events and situations – anything from planned budget to an initiative of new policies or a sudden plight in the economy. Planning the roadmap to run a business has gradually stopped working for a lot of start-ups and sizable businesses. As with the swiftly changing market and consumer behaviour, these strategies and planning are getting decayed within few months of initiating a business or promoting a product. Some organization are lagging in their usage of technology while other are restricted with their ideas and are following the same traditional means and method to run a business. Therefore, it has now become essential to shape and strengthen the young employees with the adaptability to work with any strategies accessible to them and execute at the time. It is important to equip them in doing what's needed for an organization to accomplish its goals. Subsequently, constructing the work ethics with employees becomes crucial to make business move quicker and at full tilt without forfeiting the quality of the product/service. The modern innovations and smart technologies are contributing a lot in creating a sustainable world by assisting customers with the quickly evolving products. Organizations do this since society anticipates it, yet in addition since it is vital for their own growth and present their service in the face-paced business world. The marketing department of an organization has APRIL 2021 | 23
equipped with a plenty of advanced tools today that can assist the business to spot purchaser and trending product in market, scale their advertising, and maximize the consumer engagement at diverse platforms.
looking for some other services that can. You don't need to have imperium to prevail in the business world; you simply need to tank up with creative thoughts and turn them into solutions.
Data Analytics for marketing, Big Data, online tools along with advertising software and applications guide organizations to – analyze the behavior of their targeted consumer, their purchasing habits, and transformation rates to more readily market to them. All these approaches become possible due to the expansion of numerous social media platforms and digital presence of business on them.
The famous cliché that no employer resist to tell – “Think out the box” motivates employees to bring something new to the desk. Even though it has been overused by the leaders, it still describes the same lesson for growth - try not to let your preconceptions, daily routine or bounded thoughts hold you back from thinking about all the segments of a sudden inflated hitch. Grow out of your imperatives and think about all the data available to you.
Modern technology has speeds up the whole scaling measures for business to remain more productive and competitive in the digital world. Taking example of the automated marketing tools – that possess the ability to analyze the Return on Investment of each campaign instantly and provide gainful outcome for the product. These tools also yield marketing professionals with the ability to check consumer's commitment towards the product/service and feedback to cut down the worthless methods and focus on necessitate. Advancement in AI, 5G, and the Internet of Things has entirely changed the way we live, and work. Technologies like these spike enhancement, reshape and aid society in incalculable ways. Thus organizations that can't stay up with these progressions and pace are falling behind in marking their digital footprints. The potential that innovation has offered now stretched the targeted audience for them through online platforms, namely – social media, networking sites, blogs, and websites. Without the utilization of such online platforms for digital existence, business and their products won't be able to reach to the potential clients. Focusing alone on customary methods and strategies to expand a business may not be considered as a bright idea, as it may only limit a business' compass and eventually stops development and expansion. We on a very basic level, accept that the future achievement of an organization is straightforwardly attached to the strength and feasibility of the networks we serve. These days, buyers need gratification from the provider and if it is not offered to them, they'll start 24 | APRIL 2021
With these ceaseless changes in the environment of businesses, it is amazing that how various new approaches have surfaced in the field of managing the administration. Pioneers are an esteemed resource for organizations for a number of reasons – they are the key assets that help to fabricate values, trust and transparency of an organization. These leaders are a significant part that enacts change in any business. They directly affect the inspiration of low-level workers in making them contented with their work. With such a powerful impact, it is clear that these leaders can shape the thoughts of employees through their positive outlook towards changing the approach of handling a business in the digital world. With the right blend of expertise, innovativeness and perception, an organization can have a great impact on their customers and on their employees. Utilizing these attributes along with the pertinent understanding to rule in the digital world, one can confidently drive their business to an elevated height with an impact that is deep-rooted. -Renuka Singh
Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
MAHARRSH SHAH A Creative Storyteller Passionate about the Film and Entertainment Industry
S
ome people are destined to achieve success. They are driven by the zeal to transform their dream into reality, while overcoming indomitable odds. These individuals do not give up at the face of adversity. They lead by example and transform every challenge into an opportunity.
One such leader with a never give up attitude and the ability to tackle difficult situations with creativity is Maharrsh Shah, the Creative Producer & Lead (Films & Series- Fiction), Condé Nast India. He is also a former Creative Director-Films (Jio Studios) and Creative Director (Originals), Times Studio. In an interview with Insights Success, Mr. Maharrsh shares his professional journey, opinions, and future plans. Below are highlights of the interview between Mr. Maharrsh and Insights Success: 1.Brief our audience about your professional journey and your way towards becoming the creative producer at Condé Nast India. As far as I can remember, I have always wanted to tell stories. And as I hail from a family with business background, I had absolutely no idea regarding the media industry, whatsoever. But I caught the bug early, and because of my affinity towards stories and creations. Academically, I excelled in Literature and History, while miserably failing in other subjects. I enrolled for the advertising course at HR College, Mumbai, post which I studied broadcast management at MICA. To round it off, I specialised in Filmmaking from Whistling Woods International, being part of the first batch of the institute. 26 | APRIL 2021
Now with arsenal on my side, I took up various jobs for Mukta Arts and eventually got an opportunity to work in Ekta Kapoor’s creative team at Balaji Motion Pictures, after a cold call to Tanuj Garg, the then CEO, who was the most instrumental in giving me this chance. After working on various films, one of them being Ragini MMS, I had a stint with Sony Pictures and worked on developing multiple mainstream Hindi films such as Mubarakan, amongst others. 2.Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the entertainment industry? I believe, I’ve created an impact in the entertainment industry in my own small way. My career journey has been a great lesson learnt – in terms of conducting oneself, especially as a studio executive, who are otherwise mostly inaccessible and non-responsive. I ensure that I read every single piece of material that comes to me, no matter who it is from and how hard the schedule is. I ensure to reply within a stipulated period of time, so as to not keep a storyteller hanging! 3.Being an experienced creative professional, share with us your opinion on how the adaptation of novel technologies in the entertainment space has transformed the industry and what more could be expected soon? The biggest credit here goes to the OTT boom. The appetite of streaming platforms has led to creators looking for stories and create material at breakneck speed. Books, no doubt, offer a great respite when it comes to being able to pitch a project and because there is already inherently the base of a story that is available for the writer to adapt. At the same time, the word-to-screen process is not easy, but
Maharrsh Shah Creative Producer, Lead (Films & Series- Fiction) Condé Nast India
“
Be real about your own potential and be flexible and open to opportunities
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I am glad we are looking at them. In India also, some of our greatest works like Guide, Malgudi Days, 3 Idiots, etc., have been based on books. I think it is a fantastic time for book-to-video adaptations and I am glad it has finally entered the space here. Some of the recent popular streaming pieces such as Sacred Games, Paatal Lok, Scam 1992 and The White Tiger, amongst so many others are all based on books! 4. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you cruising through its ups and downs? Just like everybody else, it has been challenging for me to adapt to work from home and to be able to structure and schedule timelines, basis the way of working that we were used to. At the same time, I have become a huge fan of work from home and I hope more corporates allow employees to exercise the option. Of course, in our line of work – being on a shoot is the only way to churn out content and now that all shoots are in progress, it is refreshing to see how swiftly we have adapted and adhered to the revised way of working, new SOPs, etc. 5. What are the challenges you faced throughout your professional journey? I think, coming to terms with the long gestation period in both my roles, i.e., as a development executive or an author, has been the most challenging. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the business and as creative decisions get more democratic, this only adds to the duration of turning around an idea to final fruition, whether it is a book, movie, or series. 6. Kindly tell us something about your Bollywood Saga Book – Zoravar Zoravar: Book One in the Bollywood Saga, is really my love-letter to the movies. I wanted to tell a story that spans over eight decades of India, highlighting her journey as a nation through its greatest events, but from the perspective of 3 generations of a fictional film family, starting with Zoravar, who aspires to be an actor in the 1940s. It is an entertaining read for Bollywood buffs and trivia seekers, apart from the fans of mass paperbacks and pulp-fiction. 7. What would be your advice to budding artists, producers, and leaders who aspire to venture into the entertainment space? To be flexible and to be open to opportunities. I understand that one must follow a certain passion etc., but – the entertainment industry is an extremely volatile set-up, and a 28 | APRIL 2021
lot of the end-results are circumstantial – the endgame is not necessarily in your hands. So, let the passion be about telling stories and do not get hung-up on a particular aspiration. Enjoy the journey, be flexible and do not bother about the destination. 8. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals? In the long run, I see myself writing novel after novel, and hopefully directing, apart from continuing to develop and produce entertaining mass content. Or running a bookstore cum tavern after having migrated to the hills, where I can focus on developing good stories, on the side.
Pradeep Kumar Jain Dabbling in the Legal Space Since 2002
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HONESTY is still the best POLICY and the INTEREST of the CLIENT must be PARAMOUNT
“
PRADEEP KUMAR JAIN Managing Partner
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Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
A
n Advocate (also known as a lawyer, counsel, or counsellor) is a licensed practitioner who gives legal advice to others and also represents them. An advocate in today's world may be young or old, male or female. Almost one-third of all Advocates are under the age of 35, and a considerable percentage make up for women in the profession and it is increasing gradually. An Advocate's key responsibility is to uphold the law while defending the interests of his or her clients. One must know the law and be a good communicator to fulfill these responsibilities. New Technology always offers great hope to mankind if used wisely, it has made a difference in other professions and thus, the legal profession is not an exception. Though the Indian legal sector has been a bit late in embracing technology and harnessing its true potential, none the less, the pandemic has given us a great chance, and created this urgency to use technology for creating more efficient legal systems and framework for faster disposal of matters and effective communication channels. In this new normal era where technology is changing the way things have been running and being managed in the legal sector, the advocates are adapting to newer ways and learning to be tech-savvy. In this transformative phase, their responsibilities have painstakingly grown. In an interview with Insights Success, Pradeep Kumar Jain, Managing Partner of Singhania & Co. LLP shares with us his views of being a lawyer and what goes into being a good lawyer. Mentioned below are the highlights of the interview: Brief our audience about your journey as a lawyer. Indeed, it was an interesting journey because I never wanted to be a lawyer, though my mother always believed in my argumentative skill and suggested to pursue it. In fact, I got admitted to the course in law after my enrolment in Company Secretaryship, and completed both the courses simultaneously. In 2002, I came to Mumbai, and fortunately had met a partner of Singhania & Co, LLP who advised me to practice as a lawyer instead of a company secretary. In one sentence I can say,“legal profession was not my choice but of the almighty and maybe that’s why I got good name and fame.” Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the legal space through your stronghold in the industry? I did a master's in Mathematics and being a student with a science background, I always felt odd between evens hence, believed in doing something extra for a better result. I have always followed the phrase to date ‘little less and little more’ which means to take a little less than what you have
agreed for and do/give a little more than what is expected. These “little less, little more” had left good impressions on our clients and gradually helped me grow in the profession. The Advice of our founding partner, Mr. D C Singhania to work for client interest and offer a solution to his problems, also left a great impact on our clients, leading to an increasing client base through word of mouth and referrals from our satisfied clients. In fact, in Singhania, we were taught to use litigation as a last resort. For the betterment of society and the country, one should try to resolve commercial dispute faster through other means as the idle assets locked in litigation leads to loss of valuable resources of the nation. Taking into consideration, the current pandemic, and its impact on global economies, how are you driving your organization to sustain operations and ensuring the safety of your employees at the same time? It would be wrong to say that we came out unscratched from the impact of the pandemic. However, considering our planning and preparedness, we did not face a major impact on our operations as well as finances. Since we have been doing foreign arbitrations for decades, we are habitual of submission of documents and attending hearings through video conferencing or other modes of digital media and our experience helped us in coping with the challenges and limitations presented by the covid-19. As far as the safety of our associates is concerned, we advised all of our associates to work from home and travel only when it was not avoidable. Our Robust IT infrastructure and work from home policy helped us manage our client work efficiently. What are the challenges you faced throughout this pandemic and how did you outpace them? We Indians, develop personal relations very fast with the service provider or sellers- be it shop keepers, doctors, lawyers etc. In the consulting domain, personal interaction is a primary requirement. In fact, clients are ready to pay extra to meet a lawyer even if it is unnecessary or avoidable. During the pandemic, it was very tough to make them understand that personal meetings can be avoided, and their work can be executed without meeting personally. Gradually they understood and started enjoying meeting through a conference call. Now a majority of our clients are comfortable discussing their matters through VC and other online modes, etc. What would be your advice to budding lawyers who aspire to venture into the Indian legal space? The legal profession has always had a great impact on our
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society. Whether it would be positive or negative, it depends upon the legal professional who is carrying the baton on behalf of his client. I have few bits of advice to our budding lawyers; viz: The interest of the client should be paramount, work for a solution, be blunt in your opinion and use litigation as last resort. Further, listen to the client carefully as he is the affected party and can offer a good solution which the lawyer needs to fit within the legal framework. And last, no one can replace two important tools of law; logic and research, so always think about whether your solution is logical or not, and if logical then research to find supporting case laws. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals for Singhania & Co. LLP? It is said that the basis of the legal and medical profession is fear but in Singhania & Co., we do not believe in it. Singhania is always loved by its clients for offering solutions without injecting fear. We want to protect this legacy of our founder Mr. D C Singhania and continue to differentiate among our peers through our unique approach of a positive, fearless, and healthy client-firm relationship. How to create an impact in this fast-paced business world? Though law is considered to be a noble profession, it has all ingredients of the service industry. Therefore, delivering good or excellent services to your client and protecting his/her interests honestly can surely create a positive impact. I can understand that in litigation, more than internal, external factors affects the performance of lawyers but still, he/ she can give comfort to his/ her client by providing information/ outcome on time instead of allowing his/ her client to chase him. I believe ‘honesty is still the best policy’ and the interest of your client must be paramount. During the initial
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stage, the client must be informed about the merit/de-merit of his case and advise him/her accordingly, as litigation is not only time-consuming but a bit expensive too in the long run. I can say with my experiences that half of the commercial disputes don’t need litigation but the right advice of lawyers. I believe it can be resolved through mediation which not only saves the time and energy of clients but also the precious business assets of a nation. I have been following the above two principles for a long time and been appreciated for my approach by the clients. My focus has always been to resolve the conflict for my clients and not just winning matters for them in the courts. A 360-degree approach and a long term vision have helped me create an impact in the fast-paced business world. I am sure this will help others.
Simran Tapadia
Illustrating Positive Impact in Graphic Designing Space
D
uring the year in lockdown, when people had more time to spend indoors and less options of entertainment, most having internet access, turned to social media to entertain themselves. Many started posting their workout regime to encourage others to stay home, stay fit. Others posted their kitchen endeavours on social media. However, when scrolling through these updates became monotonous after a while, the illustrations by the artists and digital designers brought a fresh breeze on social media with a constant underlying message – to encourage their followers to stay positive amid tough times. For the latest issue of Insights Success ‘Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry’, we had a chance to interview Simran Tapadia, Designer at Lakme' India who has been on a mission to spread positivity among her followers through her artwork. To encourage her followers, Simran has started a series on her Instagram handle (@tapsiiee), where she has been posting watercolour paintings and pixel art animation with a message to stay positive. “I am currently working on body positivity quotes for both men and women. My next series will be releasing in March, which is inspired by all the events that took place in 2020.” Simran shared with us.
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Read the following interview where Simran shares her journey right from how she found her passion for print media to working for Lakme' India and publishing her book ‘How to Survive College’. Brief our audience about your journey as a graphic designer and author/entrepreneur. My journey as a graphic designer started when I was working as illustrator for The Juice Magazine, Jabong. I was ecstatic when I first saw my name published in the magazine. This was when I discovered my passion for print media and decided to pursue my career as an illustrator. Becoming an author was never in the books but everything just clicked during my last year at Whistling Woods International (WWI), while I was brainstorming for my graduation project. I have always believed in creating work that my audience can relate to. It struck me that I should write a book on how one can survive college. It was a unique idea of creating a non-fictional, illustrated book. And that is how ‘How to Survive College’ came into being. I am also in the process of publishing another book with a renowned publisher. Enlighten us on what it takes to be a successful graphic designer and author?
Persistence and smart work are the essentials to a successful life. One needs to compete with themselves and try to be better every day. I am constantly creating and exploring different mediums, be it pen-and-paper or digital software. One needs to study their audience, understand what they want, and give it to them without your audience realising they have been wanting this all along. How do you avail edge over others? I can’t say whether I’ve an edge over others. I believe; however, my work ethics and versatility has helped me stand out in my field. I have closely studied different art styles from Vincent Van Gogh to Henri Matisse, Kalamkari to Jackson Pollock, and Kerala Mural art style. My passion for learning and understanding the mindset behind these art styles has helped me improve my work and grow as an illustrator. I like creating artworks with a subtle message in it. What are your plans to optimize the user experience? What are the business lessons that you have learned? I want to create designs that are easy to understand and leave a lasting impression, which makes the viewers want to share it with everyone. While working on outdoor banners for Lakme' in Hindustan Unilever, I experienced the power of simplicity in
Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
“
Be true to yourself, no matter which eld you pursue. Your work should make you happy and the rest will follow
Simran Tapadia Graphic Designer
the artwork. When you create designs with a message attached, you need to create it in such a way that even a layman can understand what you are trying to communicate. You need to put your consumer’s needs first while creating your content. At the end of the day, they will be the ones consuming your work. Share your opinion on the role and potential of technology in improving graphic designing solutions? Technology has played a crucial role in taking graphic designing to the next level. Be it from various software that
Ÿ Author to four published books with
Whistling Woods International on Indian art styles and Vincent van Gogh. Ÿ Interviewed by Hans India for ‘How to Survive College’ on August 16th, 2020. Ÿ Won the coveted A’ Design Award for the design work in Sati Comic Book, which was exhibited in Italy, at Museo del Design - Via Bellinzona from October 15 to November 15, 2020.
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“
During challenging times, understanding the problem, and working on the ways that would help you and the audience gives you a direction to create and modify your content accordingly
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aid in creating artwork to platforms where you can share them, technology has helped designers create high-quality work smoothly. I can firmly say this as I had struggled with my output due to lack of proper machine. But when I got my hands on the right technology for designing, it was a game-changer for me. Currently, we are highly dependent on technology for creating quality work. Kindly shed some light on the challenges that you have witnessed and how you have overcome them. The biggest challenge for me was deciding which way to go ahead in life. I have always wanted to get into publishing, which led me to my book ‘How to Survive College’. Once that came into fruition, the challenge was to get the right publisher for it. So, I planned to finish the book and then pitched it to various publishing houses for seven months straight, along with attending college full-time, working as a freelancer, also working on my graduation film. The struggle of finding the publisher continued until I found Scholastic. They loved my pitch, and the rest is history. Throughout the process, I have learned that these ups and downs are part of life, it just depends on your attitude, how you tackle them.
How do you see the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and what are the best ways to adapt to challenging times? When we were affected by COVID-19, there was a lot of uncertainty in the industry. But as we all know, ‘change is the only constant’. So, everyone started adapting the new normal and work became easily accessible. As people were spending more time home and most of the audience had access to the internet, the viewership for my work grew. I also started adapting and changed the topics of my online comic novel, Memesaab. What would be your advice to designers/authors who want to venture into graphic designing or those who aspire to be authors? There is no point in doing work that your audience enjoys but you don’t. When it comes to designing or writing there are no limitations. You need to set yourself free and just focus on creating. Work every day, have that consistency of creating something new every day. And when days get tough, take it one at a time. I am workaholic. I can’t let a day go by without working or creating something new unless I’m in a rut. When that happens, I take a break for a few days to recharge myself, so that I can get back to creating content with revived enthusiasm. Where do you envision yourself to be in the long run and what are your future goals? I see myself by the mountains with a river flowing beside my cottage, while I’m working as a freelance illustrator. I also want to get into teaching and give guidance to students, as I see many aspirants confused about what career path to choose. I have seen many choose the path they end up regretting.
WFH Streamlined
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Work-From-Home Environment
Professional in the
Steps to Remain
W
orking from home has its own perks. It saves money and time to not have to commute and checking in with co-workers is incredibly easy thanks to a multitude of free resources. You could also work in your pyjamas or shorts if you wanted. But there are challenges as well. Keeping yourself from getting distracted with petty household work, handling a friend who stops by unannounced in the middle of the day, getting things done while having kids around, all these are problems that interfere with work performance. The root cause for this is distraction that may take place at home, which is why we need to create a work environment where we can focus and get work done efficiently and effectively.
Working remotely, also known as telecommuting, is often seen as a benefit to companies that offer a variety of options. Significant challenges can arise whether you telecommute 100% of the time, a few times a week, or only in emergencies. What if you have a pressing need for details and your co-worker isn't responding? Perhaps an email or other directions have left you uncertain of how to proceed. Miscommunication and a lack of communication can lead to some serious issues. A number of people work from home today. Here are a few steps that anyone could use and benefit from, while working from home. Get a Fixed Work Spot: Getting a fixed place to work is to designate a certain area from your home to specifically get work done. An empty or spare bedroom that you could convert into a home office would do the job. If you have enough space to set up a desk for your computer and office supplies, you will be ready to start working in your new work spot. Not taking into consideration the location or the space in it, dedicate an area of your house especially to work and commit to working in that space on the daily. Make sure there isn't anything around that will distract you. Make Your Work Station Comfortable: Working in a comfortable spot with pleasant furniture around you is more than a necessity. It is needed to have good office furniture at the work spot as we can work better and deliver more superior results if we are comfortable and happy in the surroundings we work in. Basic office furniture like a desk, lamp, bookshelves and most importantly a comfortable chair are some things that make work accessible and easy, eventually delivering effective results. 40 | APRIL 2021
Follow Work Hours With Discipline: The advantage of working from home is that you can flexibly set your working hours. Following work hours with discipline is one of the basic steps to setting up a successful work environment. Try to avoid lingering around the house because if time is wasted during work hours, the work assigned to you may not be completed. Invest in Quality Technology: Investing in cutting edge technology is one of the main steps to remain professional in a work from home environment. Gadgets lagging while working can be a very frustrating experience which can affect performance. Sometimes there are internet problems due to bad connectivity issues. This could be due to a bad network operator who is not supplying continuous internet. Investing in the latest technology can improve performance and productivity. Know When You Are at Your Best: Finding out the time in the day in which you are the most productive can be an important tool to getting work done efficiently. There are specific times in a day where you are the most productive. Find that time window in which you are the most productive and utilise it to do the heaviest tasks which require more attention. This can make tough tasks simple and less time consuming. Use a Calendar: Making a habit of using a calendar or diary is a good habit. If you work from home some days but are on the road on others, get into the habit of writing down and keeping track of deadlines, schedules, and meetings in a calendar. This helps in keeping track of tasks that are done and tasks that are yet to be completed. Try to Not Work in Pyjamas: Working in Pyjamas gives you a comfortable feeling which makes you want to laze around. This is one of the reasons why people choose to work from home. If you prefer to work in your pyjamas, you are sabotaging your efficiency. "Dress for performance" isn't just a catchphrase in the workplace; it's crucial when you work from home. You will prepared to handle any kind of video chat or check-in with a teammate, in addition to mentally keeping you in the right mind-set for work. These steps will definitely help anyone to remain professional in the work from home environment. -Ashish Chandgude
Sohel Sanwari
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I BELIEVE IN GROWING IN MY FIELD AND SHARING MY KNOWLEDGE OF INDUSTRY KNOW-HOW AS THE OPPORTUNITY ARISES
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T
he Indian film industry has witnessed tremendous metamorphosis over time. The arena of sound design is not an exception, where creative leaders have made revolutionary developments. They have embraced innovation and have delivered lasting audio experiences to the audience. One such renowned personality leading the industry is Sohel Sanwari. He is a veteran freelancer sound designer, who has captivated the audience through excellent sound designing and editing. In an interview with Insights Success, Mr. Sohel shares his professional journey, opinions, and upcoming projects. Below are highlights of the interview between Mr. Sohel and Insights Success:
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Please introduce yourself to our readers and your professional journey so far. Being a Sound Designer by profession, I have had an excellent journey so far, with my career spanning over a decade in this field. I have had the privilege to work on distinguished projects across varied genres in the film industry, making my work fulfilling, fun and insightful so far. The myriad of different experiences, each rich in its own way, have contributed to my success. I also believe in growing in my field and sharing my knowledge of industry know-how as the opportunity arises. What inspired you to step into the sound production industry? Who were your role models growing up? Since childhood, I was always intrigued by the world of sound. But over time, as I enjoyed watching films, I grew
Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
curious to know about how dialogues worked and how different sounds made an impact from approaching footsteps, leaves rustling in the wind to raindrops on the roof. On completing my graduation, I was determined to enter the field of sound design. At that time, Whistling Woods International (WWI) was in the stage of being launched and upon visiting, I was impressed with the superior infrastructure. Fortunately, I got an admission, and this helped me find my calling – I knew this is what I wanted to do. Mr. Nakul Kamte, was my role model while growing up and I recollect buying the DVD of his film, Lakshya, available at that time, just because I was enthralled by the effective use of sound of the war sequences in the film. Another of my role model and mentor is Mr. Rakesh Ranjan, who has inspired my work. I still remember his movie Taal, a musical blockbuster, where soundscape and silence were used to create a magical effect throughout the movie. Kindly share your views about the current volatile dynamics of the film making industry and how it may have affected your projects or work, if at all. The unprecedented time has impacted every industry, and the film industry is no exception. Fear of visiting public spaces, social distancing, and closure of cinema halls for most of the year has had a downward spiraling effect with many projects being in limbo. On the other hand, audiences have lapped up digital content with many projects releasing to wider audiences on the web platforms. Fortunately, my home studio set up has enabled me to complete projects, even during the lockdown. With most studios becoming operational again and production houses taking utmost care to follow precautionary measures, shoots and postproduction work should resume at a normal pace soon. We would love to know about your experience of working on any of the movies, series and other interesting projects you have worked on. Please tell our readers about the same. At the onset, I would like to share that every project that I have worked on has been a learning experience. As they say, there is no bad experience - it just teaches what to do or what not to do. Amongst some of the memorable experiences that have stayed with me, is working on a movie titled, Harud, with military presence at every given point of time because of the sensitive location that we were shooting in. The terrain was challenging and if you have watched it, you will realise that there is no background score – the entire soundscape was created from scratch, in detail, including the footsteps of the characters walking on
leaves to the sound of the wind and the silence. Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania was another great experience, where the entire unit was like a family of youngsters in their 20s and 30s, who were enthusiastic to try out new things and experiences. Yet another is the acclaimed web series, Four More Shots Please! where the main characters are female artists and recording sound involves bringing my best creativity in exotic locales and elaborate costumes. The experience working on Shershah has also been memorable. Shot in Kargil at a height of 18,000 feet, on a super steep incline in extreme cold and dusty conditions with no access to mobile networks, was a digital detox experience for the entire unit for almost 55 days! An experience that I hold close to my heart is working on Listen Amaya, where I worked with the late actor Farooque Shaikh and discovered the gem of a person behind the artist. What are the biggest challenges and struggles faced by a sound designer stepping into the industry? Anyone entering a new field is likely to face a struggle. I have learnt that formal education helps you brace for a transition into a work world. This needs to be supplemented with adequate and more hands-on knowledge to build skills. Remaining open-to-all kinds of projects, irrespective of the labels or price tags attached can help you prove yourself and gain a foothold in the industry. Kindly mention any of your awards, accolades, and accreditations. I have had the opportunity to work with some renowned names in the industry for some brilliant films across various genres. I won the Zee Cine Awards for Sound Design for Badrinath Ki Dulhania in 2018. Listen Amaya won the Best Film at New Jersey Independent South Cine Fest 2012. Harud won the best film in Urdu category at the 60th National Film Awards. Kapoor & Sons was nominated for Best Film at the 62nd Filmfare Awards. Four More Shots Please! has been nominated for the 2020 Emmy Awards. Please tell us about your future prospects and plans in the industry. I look forward to doing more different projects to add to my knowledge base and expertise, by collaborating with my existing network of professionals, while also exploring new opportunities with creative masters across various mediums. The objective remains the same - to design captivating soundscapes that breathe life into stories and allow sound to become a 'visible' and respectable part of filmmaking. APRIL 2021 | 43
Impactful Individuals in the Indian Industry
SURYAKANT ROUT S
uccess is not just a word; it is a journey comprised of hard work, hardships, failures, and dedication. Achieving one’s goals by overcoming all odds is not a cake walk. Individuals must deliver their very best to accomplish their goals. They should not give up during difficult situations; rather face them confidently. Impactful individuals transform every challenge into an opportunity, while creating numerous prospects for others as well. One such industrious and astute personality is Suryakant Rout. He is spearheading his home furnishing brand known as ‘ikat’. In an interview with Insights Success, Mr. Suryakant shares his professional journey, opinions, and future plans. Below are highlights of the interview between Mr. Suryakant and Insights Success: Please introduce yourself to our readers and your professional journey so far. My name is Suryakant Rout and I am from the east of India. I am deeply inclined towards my ethnicity and heritage as I hail from the oldest city known for its silver filigree, Cuttack. I began by journey working under the design maestro, Neeta Lulla from my second semester at Whistling Woods
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Crafting Life into Garments through Creativity and Dedication
International (WWI). Post my graduation, I worked as an Assistant Designer for the ‘master of weaves’, Gaurang Shah and then moved on to become the Design Head for the brand, House of Neeta Lulla. Now, I have started with my home furnishing brand which incorporates ‘ikat’. What inspired you to step into illustrations and fashion designing? Who were your role models growing up? Coming from a joint family, where we are deeply connected to one another on a personal level, I have always found joy in helping the women in my family when it comes to dressing up, from selection of sarees, to having it draped or just choosing jewellery to go with the look. I joined Whistling Woods International as a filmmaking student but gradually started inclining towards the world of design and eventually found my calling for fashion design. During my numerous visits to the library, I found myself drawn towards the fashion section and reading ‘Schiaparelli and Prada – Impossible Conversations’ by Harold Kota & Andrew Bolton, which influenced me to take the decision to pursue fashion design. This paved my path towards the world of illustrations, pen, and paper and
soon I found myself transformed from a filmmaker to a fashion designer. Shilpa Soneji, my faculty at WWI was like a true guide and friend, who became the pillar of support while I dived into the world of illustrations. She is the reason I found my personal style and I am always indebted to her for that. Kindly share your views about the current volatile dynamics of the fashion industry and how it may have affected your projects of work, if at all. There is always some form of volatility involved in fashion or rather any form of creative practices. I have always believed in participatory planning when it comes to any work. Everybody should have the freedom to voice their opinions. Following the trend is good, but I follow a design process that keeps me away from saturation while also making my vision strong. I believe in maintaining a healthy chain by paying workers on time, not putting their income on hold for any personal reasons, and giving credits to every individual who has been a part of the process, while also maintaining transparency in all I do. We would love to know about your work on any of the fashion shows, or
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The Indian art, spirituality, and the belief makes me wonder and fuel my fantasies through thoughts, breaking the mirage through reality.
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any other interesting projects you have worked on. Please tell our eager readers about your experiences working on the same. Fashion can never be boring. Every day as I head to work, I get to learn new things. My interest quotient is always high. I had a very interesting experience while working with Gaurang Shah. A part of my experience involved learning Kalamkari and that led me to design few sarees, which was completely new to me. This liberated my thoughts while I was a part of the process. Then there was a time where I explored natural dyes that were never used in Kalamkari before. This allowed me to express my art in newer colours and helped me gain efficiency in return. I remember I was sent to Srikakulam for a project and there I learnt the process of paper jamdani on Khadi. It was an eye-opener! My mind was blown! Such new techniques rendered calm and euphoria in me, simultaneously. What are the biggest challenges and struggles faced by illustration artists and fashion designers stepping into the industry? Life is all about struggles. When you are stepping into the professional world, you need to have an open mind and be prepared for the worst. Always. That is my mantra! Some issues that I would like to highlight which would be important for freshers is to always be sure of the designation and to have an awareness of the market. Knowledge of design and development will come with time, but to never give up is the attitude. Be it illustrators or designers, there will always be a time when you would find yourself suffering from a creative block, but do not let that hamper your psyche. Be open and talk about it. Also, communication skills play an important role in your growth. Never be scared to voice your opinions or insecurities. At the end of the day, we are here to learn. 46 | APRIL 2021
Learning must never stop! Kindly mention any of your awards, accolades, and accreditations. I received the Best Garment Construction Award for my collection at Aiyanna, the fashion graduation show of Whistling Woods International and was awarded by the renowned actress Manisha Koirala. Kindly tell us, what is the best part about being a fashion designer? The best part of being a fashion designer is that you are always evolving. You get to empower so many lives. There is a satisfaction of fulfilling collective dreams and goals. To also be a part of the process and get to know people from all the verticals is something I look forward to. The visual stories I design allows the viewer to have their own perspective and interpretation. These things are a part of their daily lives and I get to be a part of their conscience. The best part is to make people believe in my fantasies and making their dreams come to life! Please tell us about your future prospects and plans in the industry. Future’ is a big word. But my goal as of now is to glorify ‘ikat’ and experiment with a neoteric edge. Ikat, I believe is the underdog in the world of fashion and I want to learn and spread awareness about it with visual campaigns. I am also looking forward to collaborating with production designers to promote my textiles and craftsmanship. Odisha is the land of handloom and this collaboration would give my weavers the spotlight that they deserve and would help us to experiment more with this art form. I am also excited about applying for the Lakme Gen Next in the near future.