Chapter 11 The `International TV Club membership’ is restrained and confined to a few connoisseurs of cinema,specially invited to the exclusive precincts of Marwah Studio, to watch the array of classy films. Based on their passion for movies and comprehension of the nuances of cinematic language, Sandeep Marwah selects them with care and alacrity, though it has disappointed many regular visitors. “The International TV Club is synonymous with feature films, TV, and media. It is one of the finest clubs in the world and is on par with the members of CellPhone. Entry is through invitations only which are given to film lovers who have a love for cinema and the requisite knowledge and mindset to judge and appreciate art for art’s sake. The regular stream of viewers is upset and finds wrong assumptions, conclusions, and criticisms while we take them in our stride, as we accept criticism as a different language that offers immense scope for development and improvement.” Meanwhile, students from the ASMS Short Film Festival passed out with flying colours and are on par with the students of AAFT, as regards the subject, out-of-box themes, quality, and length of films that give the Asian School of Media Studies students a good name and an edge over others and give them new opportunities in the market. Students look at the ASMS Festival with much expectation and create a huge hype as it is an annual event, unlike the AAFT Film Festival, which is held four times a year.” It began in 2005 when avid film lovers walked into the campus to watch the First Film Festival of ASMS which set the requisite foundation for the next Film Festival. This fest has the active participation of many bigwigs from the film fraternity that motivates students. “Regular festivals and award ceremonies inspire students more than our expectations. Students make their films which not only givesthem a good reputation but also lays a foundation for their career graph and provides them with enchanting offers. On the campus, placement is given to students with an immense passion for cinema, who are also given due recognition and appreciation besides new openings. The movies made by students become part of their professional CV template, and they carry it with them. Many filmmakers have reverted to me after they watched the movies made by our students when they went in search of employment and appreciated our efforts to hone the skills of these young future filmmakers. Such appreciation inspired me to give students more opportunities in the world of cinema through our courses on the campus. By the end of the film fest, we have a huge collection of films made by fresh creative minds and produced professionally by us, which in turn enhances our bank of films. This created an urge in me to felicitate the students and motivate them, and thus ASMS Cinema Awards became a reality. As a wellorganized event, it makes students active and alert. On the first day, we chart and project the best movies while we select five nominees and reward them on the second day. Maybe it looks like that we are the only institution that felicitates young talents and gives them due to identity on such a massive scale in a professional way.” Lockdown had left Sandeep Marwah quite dismayed and disappointed as he could not organize the film festival last year. But he is adamant that he would hold the Film Festival this year. “I will hold the same ASMS Film Festival this year with much fanfare on a larger scale after things become normal after the pandemic is over. Unfortunately, the Film Festival could not be held last year due to the unexpected lockdown, though I held it online with the active participation of film lovers from India and overseas. The online Film Festival became famous and attracted the interest of film buffs which led to the tremendous success of the online event which made me decide to hold another Film Festival in the name of `Country-wise Festival’ to highlight films from other countries. We usually have a good rapport with the diplomats, embassies, and foreign filmmakers, and so we decided to cash in on this proximity and showcase their films on our campus, which leadsto mutual cultural exchange. And they were happy to support us in this new endeavour. Successfully, we held the `Festival of Films from America, Japan, Poland, and others’, once every quarter. This benefits both of us as it promotes good business and gives good exposure to each other’s culture. Students from all disciplines are usually exposed to this mega Film Festival which highlights the art and culture of different countries. It is a known fact that cinema is the best ambassador to propagate a country’s culture. This initiative not only led to wonderful relations between different countries but also to build a good rapport with them. This festival gained ground in terms of immense popularity and made our campus the center of the diplomatic circle and students. We began to regularly hold such formal congregations of likeminded people on the campus and such consistent festivities contributed on a large scale to help build `Marwah’ into a brand. With the requisite expertise, we specialize in our field and give business to others and for our establishment, which makes our campus jam-packed with various activities.” The after-effect of the mega-success of the congregation of different countries' cultures led to a galaxy of ideas in Sandeep Marwah. He decided to create a revolution in the media fraternity. “Every festival enlightens me and offers me a plethora of ideas, and I come up with a new creative vision, and this time `Global Festival of Journalism’ cropped up on my mind. The situation warranted that I should do something bold and new. I started a new organization called the `International Journalism Centre.’ That time a sudden realization dawned upon me that as a teacher, I had churned out more than 15,000 media professionals. All of them have found employment in different media organizations and are successful in their endeavours and are stern supporters of mine. I started four journalism institutes in India and had 10,000 members, which until then no one had ventured to do so and it became my exclusive creation. I decided to create a sensation in the media circle and decided to honour journalists. I placed a proposal in front of the staff members, and each one of them said that they had never heard of a festival like that. I told them that it was an out-of-the-box idea that had never been experimented with by anyone. I informed them that as a creative institution, we need to have offbeat ideas that would make us stand distinct from the rest of the world. Initially, I faced a lot of resistances from the staff, faculty, and members of IFTV. But later we got six to seven major federations besides other organizations from various parts of India to become members of this international Journalism Center. By this time, I got unanimously elected as the Chairperson, which provided me with ample strength and inspiration to go ahead with this unique venture.” As a voracious reader, Sandeep Marwah came across the United Nations and came across the UN devotes different dates to the national and international day of awareness and observances. “With my extensive research since 2011 on the varied aspects of the UN, I chanced upon the United Nations declaration of different dates. Surprised to find that February 13th had been dedicated to `World Radio Day’ while February 14th was for `Valentine’s Day’ but there were no dates for the oldest profession, Journalism. I had created the `International Journalism Centre’ and I declared February 12th as `International Journalism Day.’ Each year, I earmark three days Feb 12th, 13th, and 14th towards the Global Festival of Journalism in Asia. By sheer coincidence, Italy also celebrates the same festival but in a different tone and tenor, while our festival unfurls its doors to the public and stands offbeat and catchy with an array of workshops, seminars, and interactive programs. Besides, we had photographic and painting exhibitions, and creation forums formed to remember our ancestors and leaders. We promote love, peace, and unity through journalism. Our by-line for the festival `An event of journalists, by journalists, and for journalists,’ became an instant hit with the audience as a beautiful catchy line which reminded one of Abraham Lincoln’s famous words in a democratic set-up. Journalism as the fourth pillar gave an idea of the pertinence of journalists in society. We felicitated journalists with awards and organized programs for the radio. It became sheer entertainment and a mouthpiece of journalism with a message that one can cover anything and everything on earth. I am certain that within a few years, the world will celebrate this festival initiated by me. It began with the title of Delhi, then changed to Indian, and then foreign organizations and has been held for the past nine years. Our global reach on a large scale became discernible last week with the active participation of 60 countries, 130 speakers, 1,40,000 participants, and 5,00,000 audiences. Indeed, the Global Festival of Journalists became one of the biggest shows held successfully in the world during the pandemic during which all the foreign journalists were also awarded. And foreign journalists felicitated me with the title of `Media Scientist’. “ Success breeds success, which became true when the online festival-inspired Sandeep Marwah constitute two new awards. Citizen Journalist Awards to women journalists who worked hard for a whole year during the pandemic. “Many women became part and parcel of the program and began to teach English and Hindi. We had 200 people on board for the program through the web. 21 women had done a commendable job while 100 of them had conducted and produced large entertainment programs as presenters. A single woman had conducted 100 musical shows while another had done 100 dance shows while another had anchored 100 programs, and yet another had conducted 300 interviews. We honoured these women in front of a large audience in India and overseas, which made the web program a super-hit. We had held 80 seminars after the lockdown began.” The second award titled `Marwah Studio International Award for Excellence in Journalism’ gave journalists due to recognition. “We had completed 30 years in the business arena, 33 years in Noida Film City, and 40 years in the media circle, a huge achievement for us which became a super hit. We put in hard work for all occasions with web programs and celebrated their success in our studios. Recently, we gave away 17 awards to journalists from different countries who were enamoured to see each other through the same window. It added glitz and glamour to the program. Besides, it enhanced the quality and size of the festival.” The third award `Mahatma Gandhi National Award for journalists had entered the fourth edition. “We had 11 minor and major programs which added up to 22 programs. This gave me immense satisfaction as it uplifted the AAFT School of Mass Communication and Journalism, which in turn promotes the International Chamber of Media and Entertainment. We also celebrated my new designation as National Chairperson of Media & Entertainment Committee (Indian Standard), from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Government of India.
