Talking Heads with Sumit Awasthi

Sheetal Patel - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai
Namaskar, Mein hoon Sumit Awasthi. Mere saath aap dekh rahe hai aaj ki khas khabrain… A regular opening announcement before the screen scrolls down with the headline news... As we sit to unwind, glued to the screen holding the remote and trying to update ourselves, it is this news reader who connects us to the rest of the world. New Age news readers are now wiping off the stereotype image of mechanical anchors –– they are more spontaneous and straightforward. Interested to know more?

Meet Sumit Awasthi, Chief of Bureau, IBN 7. Young, dynamic, vivacious and down to earth sums him up. And though he and many other anchors like him inspire hundreds of youth today to try their luck in the limelight, what, however, goes behind-the-scenes is a lot of sweat and hard work. And Awasthi has been through his share of the grind too.

Can you brief us about your Indore graduate days?
After completing a Diploma course in Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Delhi, in 1998, I did a couple of months of internship at Indian Express, which was followed by another short stint at Doordarshan (DD) where I worked as a Research Assistant for the 1998 General Elections. Though I already had exposure to the electronic medium as a scriptwriter for two years while working on a project under the Health Ministry, the DD experience helped me analyse issues and further understand the nuances of this trade.

At the same time, the job hunt was still on and as luck would have had it, I walked into the Noida-based office of Zee News with my CV one spring afternoon, when coincidently the channel was already holding walk-in interviews. I waited two hours, was called in last, interviewed and asked to join on a 'two-week-trial basis without any pay but a pick drop facility'.

How was your experience at the initial stint?
The interview was over at 3 pm and I was told to report for the next 2 am shift. So there I was, with no clue about what to do next but I gradually became familiar with the technology, learnt the terminology and became more conversant with the medium. Being a fast learner, I soon graduated from the first step of logging (that is time-coding the visual frames) to scripting to finally reporting. My first interview was a sound-byte of economist Sanjay Baru on a reaction story for the Annual Budget, when I was completely 'spoon-fed' with questions. The five-minute sound-byte was a cakewalk.

I remember a P2C (Piece to Camera) where I was reporting from the field. You have to summarise the event, write the script, consult your senior, memorise and report — facing the camera. And now with more than seven years of experience, the initial 10-12 retakes have decreased to three or four. I was then put on to voice- over, where you learn the art of communication which comprises pause, stress, expression, punctuation, voice modulation and so on.

So was news anchoring the next step?
Not at all. In fact I never wanted to become an anchor because news readers were supposed to have very little grey matter as they only read from the teleprompter. But I soon changed my perception about news reading. There was a severe shortage of news anchors in Zee at one point of time and Nidhi Kulpati (the then senior anchor of Zee News) in fact shoved all the newcomers into the studio for trial. Finally five of us were selected and we underwent two weeks of rigorous training which was monitored by Kulpati and Pradeep Mathur from AIR."

Can you share with us your first anchoring shoot?
The studio was air-conditioned and I was on a deferred live. But I couldn't stop sweating and shivering. I was so nervous despite the fact there were chances of a retake. Everybody in the unit — production people, the Technical Director, Make-up man — completely freaked out. It was very disappointing, perhaps one of the worst moments in my life. I actually went and fought with Kulpati saying that I was not meant to do this and all the embarrassment happened because I was forced into it. But she was very patient and interestingly, motivated and infused confidence in me. I still remember her saying: 'Nobody is a born anchor, you simply learn the trade.

Cool. Do you have some interesting anecdotes to share with us?
I have earlier in 2006 worked as Senior Special Correspondent-cum-Anchor in Aaj Tak (TV Today). I have lots of interesting anecdotes to share but two incidences stand out. First, when I was reporting from Ahmedabad during the Godhra riots on March 1, 2002, and my car was attacked by a mob in a curfew area. A huge boulder hit the windshield, grievously injuring his cameraman Ashwini Hellan, but I managed to escape with minor scratches. And despite the ongoing pelting, we dared to do a P2C from inside the car. The shots were repeated at frequent intervals for eight hours consecutively.

Another incident, which I recall, is when I had the Samata Party beat and the Tehelka tapes created a furore across the country. After much persuasion, I managed to convince George Fernandes (who had not resigned till then) to attend a live discussion with my channel. We went on air at 5.30 pm, where Fernandes refuted the allegations. We counter-argued that we had tapes to prove the allegations. And then the discussion took an interesting turn; Fernandes challenged us to show him the tapes. We fetched them from Tehelka's office and during the wait, we continued our talk about the burning issue. A programme that was scheduled for half an hour, stretched to nearly two hours.

Anchoring is not just reading the news from the teleprompter, do you agree?
Of course. Moreover, it is also about sensibly steering a discussion, pacifying an outburst and controlling the programme. Thus, it is not only essential to have the presence of mind but also a fine wit to get away when the tables are turned against you.

And what about the long working hours? Any regrets?
Not at all because there are 25 other people like me who are also working such long durations. Moreover, the company takes good care of you. As an anchor you are not allowed to change your hair style and you have to get your suits designed only by the in house designer duo, even that doesn't really matter much. Yes, the only regret is not having enough time to play with my four-year-old son, Satwick. But my wife being in the same profession understands these tough timings and supports me a lot (Alokananda is a sports reporter with IBN 7.)

Nevertheless, I plan to take each day as it comes. This is a New Age profession but don't get into it because you want to be on the small screen. You must love what you do - so if you are all set to give this a shot, then there is no other profession that equals the thrill and challenge of broadcast journalism."