We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mamta Singh a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mamta , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
We are all a collection of stories and experiences. Some our own and some we see and hear around us. Every single one of these stories is powerful and deserves to be heard and told.
There was something about story telling that fascinated me growing up. So, later on choosing to somehow be in communications was I guess a natural progression. I may not have had an idea back then what the field of communications , journalism and media would entail but was eager to go with the flow and see what was in store for me.
My first job in news some two decades plus ago was exciting yes, to begin with but somehow I knew that wasn’t for me.
I felt myself getting drawn more to storytelling that gave one more time to go deeper , do research and tell more layered , personal stories.
I firmly believe that media should and can be used as a means of bringing about social change.
As a media practitioner I like being associated with what I prefer to call sensitive and sensible programming, using film to tell human-interest stories.
Just like in my profession as a documentary filmmaker sometimes you find the story and at other times the story finds you. Telling stories that matter became my purpose.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
After many years of working with production houses in India in various capacities, I now work as an independent documentary film maker based out of New Delhi, India.
For the past several years now I have been involved in film and communication projects for various UN agencies, the World Bank, corporates, national and International NGOs and others in the development communication space.
I served on the Jury of the 9th National Science Film Festival of India in 2019 and my work has been screened at various National and International film festivals around the world.
I was recently invited to Singapore International Foundation’s Annual storyteller’s summit to share my experiences as a documentary storyteller and speak on the topic of “Finding the story, profiles and filming with dignity.”
My interests lie in research, writing and directing human interest stories. What I like most about my work is that it I get to travel to places I may not have otherwise and meet such a wide range of people. I get to spend time listening to them , learning about and from them.
Over the years I have come to realise that more often than not it’s the backstories to filming these stories that are at times equally interesting, exciting and memorable. Like the instance where one was almost sucked into a whirlpool right in the middle of the Mighty Ganges river as one was oblivious to the fact that our boat was going close to that while we were trying to film the protagonists of one of our stories , the boat women , who were in another tiny boat rowing away.
Or more recently while shooting in a brothel in Delhi’s red light district me and my team actually got locked up inside as there was some commotion that suddenly erupted as one was trying to record an interview and the brothel owner put this huge lock on the door in trying to stop some chap from attempting to rescue a girl from inside.
My work keeps reminding me that there is something bigger than one’s self and one must try and be part of the larger picture, looking to make a difference with what one does in any little way possible.
I’m currently working on a story with an NGO , on hearing impaired children and looking at the NGO’s efforts at rehabilitating these children and working towards their integration into “regular schools.”
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
You’ll need to really love what you do , I think even have to be a bit crazy to be in this field. There are challenges of it being a lonely journey , a long journey , with financial constraints , less or no funding, logistical challenges, risks and uncertainties, the unpredictable nature of it all can be both frustrating and at the same time rewarding as it makes you think on your feet, show presence of mind and be able to craft a beautiful nuanced , relevant , emotional story at times just as you had imagined it to be at the beginning of the journey or at times you’ll be totally surprised by how different yet wonderful it eventually turned out. So one needs to be open minded on the journey.
The people we film as part of our work are often being at their most vulnerable self, so the least one can do is be respectful, mindful and compassionate towards the subjects one is filming.
Think loving what you have chosen to do helps one carry on despite all odds that may come in the way. Being true to your story and subjects , always keeping their comfort and the cause at the core of what you are doing will help them trust you more, open up more , be receptive of you and your presence and all that will reflect in the story that finally shapes up.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
Even with things changing , India, just like many other places around the world, is still unfortunately a fairly patriarchal culture and set up. I grew up in that environment and with a pretty conservative extended family. I was the eldest of three siblings. Growing up with two younger brothers could have been tough given the circumstances. But I consider myself lucky that my parents never made me feel any different from my brothers. In fact now looking back I recall that it was my brothers who’d be complaining that I always got what I wanted and needed , I always got my way and that our parents always listened to me. I know that it was all in jest and was cute sibling rivalry and banter. But now as I look back I realise that it wasn’t far from the truth. My parents not just listened to me , they have been my biggest supporters , encouraging me all through, letting me make my own decisions, big and small. Showing understanding and trust, standing by me no matter what. That has impacted how I go about life for sure , not having to worry about more than what life throws at me. Not having to keep bothering about what society would say , what the extended family would say or feel. Knowing that the people that matter most to me, my parents are with me every step of the way is a blessing indeed.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mamtasingh.co.in
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamta-singh-a7a39039/
Image Credits
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