My Name is: Shloka Chhabria

BMM College: Jai Hind

BMM Specialisation: Advertising

Currently Working at: HELLO! India

Shloka’s Take

Q1. Does being a BMMite give you an edge over others in the field of media?

It certainly does… It prepares you for – what people call – the big bad world of media. You may not begin your career graph as an ace, but you can be sure of two things: You’ll know what you’re getting into [the long hours and sleepless nights spent scrambling to finish BMM assignments pay off here] and it’s not until you start working that you will truly the understand the power of the media [be it in Advertising or Journalism].

Q2. Do the subjects in BMM help you know the reality of the job? Is there any place for theory in the creative world?

The subjects cover the fundamental aspects of the media, yes, but only when you start your job do you get a feel of the ‘real’ world. Having said that, I do feel that the BMM course as a whole – subjects, assignments et. al. take you as close to reality as you can get. So that when you do get there, you’re not a fish out of water. In today’s day when the media is ruthlessly cut-throat and cutting-edge, the space left for theory is very narrow. Creativity is limitless, that is its weakness and its strength.

Q3. BMM or BMM from a particular college? Does it make a difference?

I don’t think I’d ever imagine myself doing BMM from any college other than Jai Hind. However, I did participate in the exciting inter-college events and I have to say that the vibe and enthusiasm shared by all the participating colleges was alike. Though, academics are equally – if not more – important and Jai Hind tops my list here!

Q4. Internships during colleges – are they relevant in the long run?

Very relevant. I thought I would get into the Marketing field until I did an internship in my first year, when I realized that Marketing was a big no for me! It’s always, always better to get a taste of the field that you want to specialize in – and what better time than during the summer? That way you have a clearer idea of what you want to do after you graduate.

Q5. Work Experience or Higher Studies? What’s your pick? Why?

Don’t ignore higher studies, but get some experience first. Work until you know for sure what you love doing. Use your time to try different things. You never know what clicks. once you’ve set your mind on a field, then go and pursue your studies – educating yourself never goes to waste.

Tips for BMMBoxers

Your favourite subjects in BMM: Journalism, Cinema.

Tips for BMMites: Don’t take your assignments lightly, they hold as much weight as your grades and when you go for a job interview you have more than just a CV to your credit.

Have some questions for the interviewee above? Wish to get some of your doubts cleared? Or want to just say a simple ‘Hi?’ Feel free to add your thoughts and questions as comments and we will try and have them answered for you!

Organization Name:  BMMBox.com

Organization Description: The one-stop shop for all stuff BMM!

Location: From home

Role Title: Creative Writer/Photographer

Role Description /Role Responsibilities:

Creative Writer – We are looking for someone to write fun, whacky, entertaining articles for our site. If you think you can make people smile/laugh with your words, puns then this is the position for you.

Photographer – If you take photographers and are pretty good at it, then we’d like to have you on board for a photo-essay series. If you capabilities lie in bringing out the essence of one topic through myriad photographs, then this is an opportunity you must take up.

Qualification Requirement: FY/SY/TYBMM

Experience Requirement: Nil

Compensation/Stipend: A certificate of appreciation shall be given. You will be given credit for your content we upload on the site.

Application Process: Email current and updated resume + 2 writing samples (on any topic) to connect@bmmbox.com

Selection Process: Sifting through resumes, followed by phone interview

Key Dates: Applications close on April 30, 2013

Introduction
My Name is: Suhrid Pawar
BMM College: SIES College, Sion
BMM Specialisation: Advertising (Batch of 2007)
Currently Working at: Senior Copywriter at Saatchi & Saatchi Focus

Suhrid’s Take
Does being a BMMite give you an edge over others?
Yes it does. Only if you are absolutely clear about what you want to do in life. Just a BMM qualification will not make you a media mogul overnight. The degree definitely gives you an edge as it exposes the workings of media in conjunction with society and consumers. The course opens up your mind to questioning, re-imagining, and demystifying the entire media industry and finding your own space in between all the chaos.

Do the subjects in BMM help you know the reality of the job? Is there any place for theory in the creative world?
The subjects give you an overall idea about how the industry runs. Realities have to be experienced on your own by doing internships, interacting with people from the industry, reading blogs and scouring media sites for trends and predictions. Theory is no doubt important. It makes one’s base firmer and allows one to be well-informed and open to change.

BMM or BMM from a particular college? Does it make a difference?
Makes a difference based upon the faculty. This is the biggest problem with the course as of now. The course is such that it needs people from the industry to come and share knowledge, which is difficult given the timings and commitments of professionals. Also, the right mindset towards running the course helps a lot. Almost every college in the city has BMM but not all of them are equipped with the right faculty or facilities, which is a shame.

Internships during colleges – are they relevant in the long run?
Yes they are. An internship gives you the chance to interact with professionals, get a taste of the life in media and also helps you to build contacts.

Career Queries
Work Experience or Higher Studies? What’s your pick? Why?
I would suggest a couple of years of work experience and then going for higher studies. If you want to go in for design or any specific line of the media, then a Masters helps. Otherwise, work is the best university.

How did you start your career?
I was part of a freelance ad agency started with my colleagues in BMM. We worked really hard during the second and third year, but had to discontinue as most of us left for further studies, including me. I wanted to pursue a Masters for which I went to British Council, met consultants and finally decided to do an MA in Communication Design from Kingston University.

Were you clear about which field you wanted to get into right from the beginning?
I was clear I wanted to get into advertising, Copywriting more specifically as I had done a Diploma in Applied Arts before the BMM course. This gave me clarity about my professional aspirations.

Any particular incident that helped you decide on your career option?
My decision to join the Diploma came after a disastrous HSC result. I failed in Maths and subsequently took an aptitude test, the results of which stated that I wasted two years in Science, and anything related to Arts would be really good for me. That was the turning point in my life

Tips for BMMBoxers:

• Don’t fall into the trap of drugs, smoking and drinking and believing that all that is required for getting great ideas
• Look everywhere around you for inspiration
• Don’t expect the college to do things for you
• Ask questions about everything. Debate. Read anything and everything
• Stay on top of trends in the industry and get a good grip on English

BMMBox is looking for leaders, for students who like to get things done, for those who are always looking to explore and network. We are scouting for Ambassadors who can represent their college on our platform.

WHAT: BMMBox Ambassador (Internship at BMMBox.com)

WHERE: From the comfort of your college and home!

WHEN: Starting 3rd week of January, 2013

WHY: We, at BMMBox.com, are giving you the chance to represent your college and are presenting you and your peers with a platform to showcase your talent and hardwork. Here, we will share work done by you and your college mates; work that otherwise gets limited to a class of 60 and does not receive the large-scale recognition that it deserves. Opportunities like these don’t come by often. And when they do, you must GRAB them!

HOW: Apply filling in the application form given below

Do You Have What It Takes?

Do you think you have it in you to be one? If yes, fill out the BMMBox Ambassador Application form. If your words and skills impress us, you could well be an Ambassador!

Here’s the link to the form. So APPLY NOW!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEc3cmRPS19kdWJjVjBlaTRIZklhN0E6MQ

Raunaq Bajaj and Pratik Gangavane who have conceptualized all the incredible events revolving around the theme of Cinema give us an insight into how they came about these ideas.

Pratik tells us, “When we first sat to figure the events it looked pretty easy, but we soon realized that having a mainstream theme comes with a challenge of maintaining the crowds interest with out of the box events. We wanted the events to be challenging and at the same time realistic enough.”

Raunaq adds, “As difficult it is for the colleges to execute the events, it was equally exigent for us to craft them. Being largely culture orientated, incepting the marketing event i.e. Filmy Bazaar, was a big challenge for us. Considering the track of Cinema and Bollywood, it’s easy to frame artistic and cultural events but not the theory ones. Our chief foundation behind every event was to keep it fun and challenging, which would hold everyone’s attention. We wanted the colleges to actually crack their heads in coming up with the best ways to present their acts.”

Pratik continues, “We have made sure we do not spoon feed our contingents. Curtain Call, our fashion show event this year is demanding and expects the contestants to walk the ramp without performing any stunts, which has been the trend lately. We wanted to bring back the original concept of fashion shows back.”

Detour is famous and renowned to start every event on time, a feat which other colleges fail to accomplish. We asked the two vivacious events heads of Detour that how they were managing to live up to this legacy, “Pratik and I are personally never on time for any of our meetings or even lectures for that matter. But for Detour we have a standard to follow and live up to a name. So, we’ll be there on time. Will you too?”

Lights. Camera. Detour.

The most awaited festival every BMM student looks forward to is at last just a few days away. Honoring 100 years of its existence and growth of Indian Cinema, Jai Hind College brings to you the most enthralling and thrilling 3 days as Detour this year only plans to get bigger and better, promising everyone the most dramatic and action packed festival of 2012.

This festival is the baby of 13 bright and exceptional SY students who with the assistance of their batch-mates are working day and night to get this festival going.

This year Detour has a male chairperson, Shubhang Bhattacharya. While in a conversation with him, we ask him how the theme of ‘100 years of Cinema’ came along and this is what he has to say, “The theme underwent a lot of changes. We knew we wanted to do something mainstream and along the lines of media but our initial ideas seemed too vague.”

Nishtha Bijlani, the Co-Chairperson for Detour this year adds, “Being a media festival, movies are an integral medium of communication and thus we decided to do something revolving around the notion of cinema. We always wanted to have a mainstream theme but at the same time a kind of theme that would excite other colleges and get them interested to participate and give in their best.”

Shubhang continues, “Later with suggestions from our coordinator, Dr S. Varalakshmi and enthusiastic seniors we closed upon, ‘100 years of Cinema’ This theme was in the real sense one of a kind as it cannot be reiterated again and went perfectly with the feel of Detour.”

When asked about his core team, Shubhang has only good things to say, “The core team started functioning and executing their assigned responsibilities without Nishtha or me having to push them to get it done. Every single person in this core has been actively involved in Detour and knows how much it means to everyone.”

Nishtha sums it up well when she says, “The common link of love for Detour and the quest to make it better than the rest connected us, made us put all our differences aside and convinced us to function as a strong and determined team.”