Hailing from a small town called Gaya (Bihar, India) Anuradha Singh’s journey form ‘Mission Kashmir’ to ‘India’s Daughter’ can well be a source of inspiration for everyone. An internationally acclaimed independent editor / documentary film maker, Anuradha has worked in over 30 feature films, documentaries and short films in Hindi and English language. She has worked with big banners and International production houses of Walt Disney Pictures, Dream Works, BBC Storyville series and has won awards by NBC and UNICEF. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘India’s Daughter’ (documentary based on the gang rape of a young girl in India that caused outrage globally) are only some of the brilliant projects she has worked on. Chittagong and Youngistan are some of her recent Bollywood (Hindi) movies.
Anuradha wanted to be a doctor, however, the blood and pain associated with the profession was something which she was unable to withstand. One day, she went to see a workshop on mass communication and fell in love with the profession. Not only she enrolled herself but scored the highest in editing. Seeing her passion for editing, one of her professors, Prof. Makkar from The Hindu asked her to go to Mumbai and work with Renu Saluja, one of the best editors of her time, or do an editing course from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
“When I met Renu ji, she already had lot of assistant so she couldn’t accommodate me. Then I got a job as an assistant director in a film in which Renuji was editor. I took up the opportunity so I can learn as much from her, like Eklavya learnt from Dronocharya watching him. It was my way of learning the art before joining the film school,” recalls Anuradha.
She then went on to do a four years course in FTII, Pune. ‘I always believed that “Formal education cannot be replaced.” My faculty and teachers were very supportive and I am really grateful to them for imparting me the knowledge,” she adds.
When asked if she faced any difficulties as she hailed from a small town, Anuradha says, “coming from small village not even small town, I certainly faced many issues. But my parents and my grandmother stood by me giving me the best of everything and liberty to pursue my dream. In Mumbai, I had to go through lot of rejection because of the background I was coming from. Slowly because of patience and perseverance I have been able to turn those negative remarks into appreciation. I am an optimist and don’t take ‘NO’ as an answer. This helped me in my life immensely.”
Anuradha has worked with both- Hollywood and Bollywood projects. The difference between both, she says, is basically in the attitude towards work. “In West it is professional and talent is respected irrespective of the background,” she opines.
Advising all the youngsters who aspire to join this profession, Anuradha says, “My suggestion would be to go out and get oneself enrolled for professional courses. If not then get working under a professional editor. See lot of films around the world and understand the nuances of editing. And if everything fails then self learn through Google. There are lot of videos and sites which would help you to learn the art and craft.” Finally, she advises, “Have a dream and a strong will to succeed. One does not require any Godfather. The only thing one requires is patience and perseverance.