On the morning of September 7, Bhavnoor, Moneetha and I, Neelakshi, students of Fashion Media Communication found ourselves at the sets of the ‘The Creative Indians with ManilRohit’, a TV show hosted by the brother-artist duo, Manil and Rohit Gupta. We knew that there will be so much that needs to be done. The madness of being on the sets, and seriousness of the work around had crept in together.

The show features masters of the creative field, from various walks like art, design, fashion, photography, music, dance, cinema, etc. The show has featured prominent personalities like actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, sitarist Anoushka Shankar, designer Rohit Bal, and Youtube storytellers TVF- The Viral Fever, among prominent stallwarts. With a successful run so far the show now rolls into its third season, to be broadcasted on the TLC channel very soon. It delves into the creative process of artists and talks about their lives, making it a must watch for all design and creative students.

We were lucky to become a part of the shoot for the very first episode of Season-3, a session with the Group Photo Editor of the India Today Magazine, Mr. Bandeep Singh. His images have been published in notable magazines like the India Today, Time, New York Times, Business Week, and Business today. He has spent majority of his professional life in Delhi. Having an experience of 21 years, Mr. Singh is one of the best that the country has to offer. He is an all-rounder who excels in all realms or rather aspects of photography- be it landscapes, fashion, street or even stills.

A hard-core believer in ‘originality’, Bandeep believes in making every picture unique. His personal photographic works are very conceptual and exploratory. He is also a believer of spontaneity. He believes that sometimes, the best images that you get are a consequence of unplanned actions and moments that happen out of your control. He believes that as an artist, one should be free of any mental blocks of preconceived notions and must go with the flow. Apart from photography, Mr. Singh is also a passionate writer and a painter. The shoot was held at his beautifully done residence, and we were fortunate enough to witness some of his ground-breaking works in first person.

Honestly, as a student, an opportunity like this is hard to come by. To meet the masters, to learn from them and to be able to ask away doubts freely at their personal setup like homes or studios, is usually a dream for many students. Every moment of the day held something to learn from. We were surrounded by a talented team which explained every part of the filming process to us. We learnt about the usage of cameras and lights and helped in stage designing. A stimulating one-on-one interaction with Mr. Singh offered us rare insights into the creative field.

We learnt of his inspiration and landscaped through his riveting, compelling works. Big-big thanks to Pearl Academy, and to The Creative Indians team for providing us with such a wonderful opportunity.

I wish the best of luck to the team. May success find its path to your door always. 