Interview with Mr. Sanjoy Roy
As we all know that the economy has been hit hard due to the pandemic and its effect can be felt strongly in various industries especially the Events and Entertainment Industry. Thus, through our insta live series we look to answer some key questions and queries of concern related to this dynamic industry that are being constantly asked by freshers, students and employees of this industry.
On a lovely Tuesday evening, 16th of July at 6pm, we had Mr. Sanjoy Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts and Co Chairman, FICCI – Creative and culture Sector, join Mr. Arvind, CEO of team.i on our Instagram live series Expert Speak on the changing landscape…a plethora of opportunities
Tell us about yourself:
For Mr. Sanjoy, much of his story according to him is “accidental”. “Everything happened by accident”. He was part of his school and university’s theatre group. “I was in my final year in St. Stephens, I started working with Barry John for a theatre company. For me that was my life, and I wasn’t going to give up on it”. Coincidentally, he met his wife back then through theatre. “So one day, my would be Father in Law asked me what I do for a living, and he was slightly disappointed to find out that I didn’t have a proper day job, and that it’s his daughter who’s going to support me. That when I decided I had to do something”.
This is when one of his friends approached him to direct and write for a tv show. So he deviated away from his first love theatre, and started directing and writing a whole slew of series on TV for the next couple of years. This is when he, Mr. Bobby and one more of their friends from the theatre background decided to branch out and set up Teamwork Art, a television and film company.
This became a big hit. “By 1995, we had weekly 14 or 15 daily soap operas, food shows, talk shows etc”. Since back then there was no concept of a “season”, thus a successful show kept running for years. Due to this, the team had to work constantly until one day many of their team members complained of work overload, and creative block. “A part of our team were saturated and couldnt produce things more. They complained that they lacked a normal social life, which is a fair point. Thus, we quit the television business. He then ventured into the field of arts, music and dance.
Another interesting anecdote that he recites is of his white long hair. “Because of my long white hair, I got invited for various talks related to arts and culture from various prestigious universities across various parts of the UK. Which then resulted in 1999, creating the first platform for arts and culture in the Edinburgh festival. Then in the year 2000, they immediately set up their office in SIngapore. “The Singapore govt. Took interest in us, and thus invested towards the establishment of an office there”. After that, its been no stopping for them. They have grown and established themselves firmly in countries such as Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand. We do around 33 festivals related to arts and culture across 42 cities in 17 countries”.
How was the lockdown period for you?
According to Mr. Sanjoy, this has been the longest period in the past 30 years that he’s been at home. “This has come like a blessing to me in many ways. It has helped me recover from aircraft travel allergy, and Hotel room carpet allergy. My food habits have improved now”.
This time period has helped him to take some rest, sit down and think of ways to reinvent and innovate.
Speaking about tapping the digital space during this time period, he says “The digital space always existed for us, but we never created any content specifically for the digital platform”. Thus, during this time period they have created and broadcasted few series digitally, and some of them have received around 2 million views and 7 million impressions.
When asked about further plans during this period he says “We are going to do a digital series from our theatre group, we are going to do a jazz series and some musical series. We are setting up a new arts consultancy. We are going to start a series to promote and preserve some of our folk art”.
Your take on the future?
‘I don’t think there will ever be an old normal. There will be a synergy between digital space and in person. Digital has helped in getting higher reach, but it can never replace the physical experience. I don’t see digital to be a long term solution as long as there’s no platform provided for people to get access to these digital platforms”.
Any Advice for the youngsters out there?
“This is an opportunity for everyone. If you can ride through this period successfully, then you will have the learning that you can apply for the rest of your working life year. This is the time to reset the button. Search for the passion that you have that you can offer to the world and how unique it is.
Go back, upskill. Review what you have done. Figure your strength out, and then figure out what your unique selling point is. What is that value plus that sets you apart. If you have a client relationship already, think of a solution for them right now”.
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