On his own terms

Anjali Nauriyal

He calls himself a silent film maker. That's because he'd rather approach issues and try to make a difference silently rather than being on your face. Jayprakash Panwar is MD, Channel Mountain Communication (CMC), a media production company, working essentially in the hills on hill-specific issues. JP, fondly called so by his friends and loved ones, was born in a mountain village Punar situated in the salubrious environs of Rudraprayag Garhwal. "Ever since I was in school, I have been nurturing my creative bent of mind by dabbling in anything creative. And living in the hills acquainted me first hand with a variety of issues hampering the progress of the mountains and its people," he recalls.

It was not surprising then that he sought to combine his day to day knowledge of the problems of the hills, with his creative zest, and before long a film maker was born. After completion of Master’s in Anthropology, JP began working with community development organizations and learnt to make a strong case about developmental, anthropological and communicational issues that are close to his heart.

"I made sure I remained active as a freelance journalist and photographer," he pronounces adding, "And then went on to launch a media production company in 2003. Thereafter I began making a number of audio-visual and other multi -media projects for government, non-governmental organizations and corporate sectors. Through CMC, I am endeavouring to restore, preserve and document land, people, ecology and environment, history and culture in the digital age. Since its establishment, CMC has been engaged in audio-visual and print production at the state and national level."

Soon he became a well-established name in the hills. His efforts were soon recognised and appreciated and he went on to bag the prestigious Ford Foundation International Media Scholarship for his substantial contribution towards the developmental of communication sector in the hills. "The award provided me an opportunity to study further. So I did another master's degree in New Media Arts from the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Australia in 2007 and also completed a short course in filmmaking from the University of Melbourne," informs JP, who then went on to make 70 documentary films, short films, advertisement films, visual reports, television programs and music videos and even produced and directed 52 radio programmes. All along he also contributed to 15 books, magazines, newsletters and reports as a writer and editor. JP's latest creative endeavour is his book titled 'New Media Society' published by the prestigious German publisher (VDM, Germany).

Another pet project with JP is My Film. Presently, he is the initiator of "Filming World Campaign - My Film" which is an unending documentary series that helps students, individuals and organizations to make their own films. He elaborates, "My Film is an unending documentary series. It is a mission of filming our beautiful world. Any professional with or without any background of filmmaking, can participate. This campaign runs solely by self-contribution of members of 'My Film Club (MFC)' or donors who support our philosophy. In this campaign, all participating 'My Film Makers - MFM' choose common subjects of their interest and start filmmaking. They together learn scripting, story boarding, production design, production management, cinematography, narration, sound and music composition, editing and final screen output."

In other words he quips, "My Film is an ambitious mission of filming world's passion, people, places, perspectives, process and perceptions. This idea is sustained through contributions by aspirants and well wishers. All aspects of filmmaking including travel, transportation, communication, accommodation, food, equipments and editing are well taken care of by us. The 48 stories (24 minutes each) of My Film documentary series will be broadcast on reputed television channels."