Anchor Career - Hu quotes ARTICLE

Do words excite you? If yes, you could be the next Shah Rukh Khan. No, we are not talking about a career in cinema. Think Javed Jaffrey, Roshan Abbas, Mini Mathur and Cyrus Broacha — and you will know what we mean. Whether you call them masters of ceremony, hosts, anchors or a compre, they are people who can handle a show with ease and elan.

Anchoring is serious business. Some of the biggest names in Bollywood — including Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar and Farooque Shaikh — have all had stints as anchors. As an anchor, you can be in a news team, in an entertainment show, or on the stage.

With more and more live shows being staged, the demand for quality hosts or anchors has increased. Be it a product launch, film award nights, road shows, receptions or even a campus show, it is they who steer the events with wit and spontaneity.

"It is all about being witty, intelligent, spontaneous and articulate," says Mini Mathur, who has been anchoring Sony's Indian Idol ever since it began. However, the requirements vary from show to show and channel to channel as also with the kind of programme one has to handle. For instance, news anchoring is a different ball game. As a news anchor you need to have presence of mind, a sharp news sense and the ability to handle breaking news.

As the chairman of the Chennai-based Asian College of Journalism, Shashi Kumar (a former newsreader himself), believes, a news anchor needs to have a nose for news. "Besides, technical knowledge and good communication skills give you an edge over competitors," he says. Adds Professor Obaid Siddiqui of the AJK Mass Communication and Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, "You have to be a good journalist to be a good news anchor."

An anchor's primary job is to ensure that a show is smooth flowing. If it's a reality show, the anchors are expected to entertain the audience with their spontaneous wit. "Though we follow a script we have to be alert," says Hussain Kuwajerwala, anchor of Shabaash India, a show on Zee TV. "It's advisable to have a back-up plan and be prepared for any emergency."

Shivaji Sarkar, head of the department of journalism in English, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), warns that it is a demanding career. "But if you are good at your work you'll always be in demand and can even dictate terms."

There are some who believe you need to have the gift of the gab to be an anchor. "Anchoring cannot be taught, the talent can only be polished. However, several journalism colleges do teach news anchoring. But for the entertainment business, one needs to have both talent and luck," says Siddiqui.

So how does one go about pursuing such a profession? Aspiring news anchors can get a degree in mass communication from institutes such as IIMC, New Delhi, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai and Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication, Pune.

Most of these courses do not give hands-on experience of news anchoring but help in honing one's communication skills. They also help build contacts as most of the faculty are either journalists or ex-journalists. Some news channels like Aaj Tak have their own schools. TV Today Media Institute, belonging to the India Today group, was launched in 2005 with a view to cater to the demand for quality journalists.

But for those wanting to host entertainment programmes, a word of caution: Be prepared for self-tutoring and a lot of leg work. "You have to hang in there and keep trying. Try meeting the TV producers, leave your rsum and pictures, go for auditions," suggests Kuwajerwala.

One way to make your mark is by joining a reality show. For instance, Himani, a Sa Re Ga Ma contestant, is now hosting reality shows such as Zee's Antakshari. Then you have Rahul Vaidya (of Indian Idol) anchoring Jhoom India at SAB TV.

Says Abhaas Joshi, anchor of Star's Chotey Ustaad, "I was one of the contestants on Star Voice of India. I didn't make it to the finals." But lady luck smiled on Joshi. When Shaan opted out of the show, Joshi was called on to do the needful.

Gajendra Singh of Sai Baba Telefilms, Mumbai, maintains that it is not necessary for an aspirant to have connections. "But they need to be performers and should be able to vibe well with both contestants and the audience. All that they need to do is to come for auditions at various production houses."

As far as openings are concerned, says Madhumanti, anchor of ETV's Rojgere Ginni and Gaan Live, "A fresher should accept any offer to gain experience."

By now, if you're wondering about the pay packet, it's cool. "The pay for news anchors varies from channel to channel. A fresher at a relatively known company may get Rs 10,000 a month, which can go up to around Rs 28,000," says Sarkar.

Says Joshi, "Two episodes of my programme are shot in one day and I need to be on the sets for around 13 hours. But no complaints, I get a cool Rs 80,000 for a day's work."

Mathur confirms that the money is good. "It ranges from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh per episode. In SRK's case, of course, it amounted to a crore per episode!"

So, if you have the gift of the gab and a great screen presence, wait no more. Since this career comes with a shelf life, the sooner you begin the better.

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