Through the looking glass...

NEW DELHI: Is there a message you feel you want to communicate? Issues that you could devote your entire life to? You might consider a career in documentary film-making.
Documentaries are non-fiction films that record the realities of people and often take on the cause of the marginalised.
Anand Patwardhan, who has award winning documentaries like ''War and Peace'' to his credit, sees documentary film-making as an extension of activism.
He says, "One needs to be motivated by an issue/issues to be able to make documentary films. What makes it different from social activism is that you can reach out to so many people. If make money then this is certainly not the career for you."
In terms of aptitude, sensitivity is the most essential quality for a documentary film-maker apart from committment and an ability to develop relationships.
Aparna Sanyal, a young documentary film-maker says: "As a film-maker you need the kind of rapport with your protagonist where he or she feels confident to reveal their innermost truths to you.
The worst thing you can do as a documentary film maker is to look at you subject from the outside." Being techno-savvy also helps tremendously since you can save on the money used for hiring technicians for your production.
If you can use a camera, and have an editing system on your personal computer, nothing like it. Money, you also get the satisfaction as a film-maker you have to be involved with the film rt from conception till the very end. Although film-making institutes will teach you a lot, the best way to learn is on the job.
"Working for three years with an established film-maker like Anand Patwardhan or Siddharth Kak as as assistant is an education in itself" says Sanyal. Then ultimately its about what you want to say.