House of Experts Ep4: Vibha Kagzi in Conversation with Anupama Chopra

We are ReachIvy.com, a premium study abroad and career consultancy headed by our CEO Vibha Kagzi. House of Experts is an Insta-Live series that we kick-started to provide an insight into a wide range of career choices from people who have made it big in the industry. Through this, we aim to cover the experience of the person and how any aspiring youngsters can work their way up to be successful in the field.

In Episode 4 of House of Experts, we invited the renowned film critic and the founder and editor of the digital platform FilmCompanion.in, Anupama Chopra. She is also a television anchor, author, and Director of the JIO MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star. FilmCompanion.in is a platform that offers a curated look at cinema and entertainment. She completed an MA in journalism from the Medill School at Northwestern University. She received top honors at Medill, winning the Harrington award for “Academic Excellence and Promise for Success in the Field of Magazine Journalism”

Here are some of the key takeaways from the session between Vibha Kagzi and Anupama Chopra in case you missed it:

1) How did your education influence your career?
I wouldn’t say that it influenced my ‘choice’ of career because I was very sure that I wanted to be a film journalist when I did my Master’s degree in Journalism. It gave me a foundation that has served me for the last 25 years. It was a one year course back at that time, and it set my basics in places like respect for facts, integrity, the separation between the church and state – advertising and editorial. These are all very contentious things now, and today I see a muddled mix. What they taught me at Northwestern was how to be a strong journalist and how to cultivate and nurture your own voice. That was definitely irreplaceable.

2. How can someone start film reviewing at their own level?
Back in the day, you looked to be hired by someone to do something like this. But thanks to the digital age, everyone has a platform to express whatever they feel like. I remember that after becoming the director for the MAMI festival and having to run the FilmCompanion.in side by side, I had somewhat forgotten what it is that I really do. I was so taken over by the entire organization aspect of it all that I forgot to create. But now, I am trying to bring some discipline into my life by trying to review as many films as possible and writing at least 500-600 words every day to ensure that I keep myself on track, and do not forget what I truly do. So, I recommend this to everyone who wants to start film reviewing at a personal level because this will help you figure out what you like and don’t like and also cultivate your voice. Start a blog and start reviewing.

3. What was your plan for FilmCompanion.in when you started it? Did it pan out?
The primary aim of FilmCompanion.in was to create a platform that talked about film and entertainment in a way that was engaging and lived up to editorial integrity. These two things were very important to me. I also wanted to ensure that there was something for everyone. We are going to be 6 years old in July and up until now, we have managed to create a very strong south component which is led by Bharadwaj Rangan, a national award-winning film critic. We have both highs and lows. We can have a story about the most masala film ever and a story about how sound record artists are recording the sound of the silence of cities. So both mainstream and the little things.

4. How does a film critic make money?
It is tough, especially in the present pandemic. But otherwise, it has been an uphill climb. Our monetization happens mostly on YouTube. We have about a million subscribers and about 1700 videos which are continuously monetized. We also do brand monetization. I have done shows with Microsoft, LinkedIn, etc. so, we work with brands to bring in revenue. We work with advertisers too.

So go ahead and pen down that film review right away. Start your blog and experiment on what you are capable of.
Is there a career you are curious to know about? Let us know!

Did you miss the session? Here is a link to the video on our YouTube channel

Join us on our next episode of House of Experts without fail! Stay tuned!

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