Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sahil Juneja. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Sahil thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

The biggest risk I took was to become a filmmaker, it’s a job that requires utmost patience, passion, hard work, presence of mind or any/every skill that any other profession requires. It is a job that takes everything from you, your blood, sweat and the little bit of money that you have. It was the year 2015 when I was in high school and I decided to become a filmmaker. I thought, I could be the one to bring my stories to life, it wasn’t soon enough when my friends read on of my short stories and made fun of me in front of the entire class. It might not sound harsh but for a young kid this was heartbreaking. This didn’t stop there later when I made my very first short film, it was again laughed at and I was crushed under the burden of being good enough. The only thing that kept me driving was the magic of the big screen, that magic that I’ve been watching since childhood. However at that point I did understand that I’d have to develop my skills if I want to survive in this world and still follow my dream. This thought and that day, later paved my path to come to the United States to take education from the prestigious New York Film Academy. Funny enough, we were talking about risks and this industry that I chose has its skeleton built on it, everyday I wake up, I am reminded of the risks involved in this profession. The burden to fail even before you’ve started is not an easy poison to drink, especially when you see everyone who chose a linear path making 10x more money then you. However, just like in films, against all the odds, I am ready to present myself again with my upcoming short film called “Surprise”. It took me 7 years to gather the courage and required knowledge to come up with this beautiful film which will run in festival circuit in the year 2024.

Sahil, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an aspiring writer/director from India, who’s trying to fit in this mega industry of films. I have been following my passion since the past 7 years. My journey has been full of ups and downs, but my passion isn’t dry yet.

I write produce and direct independently, before reaching to this post I worked under many professional. Where I learnt all the basics of the job, then in order to sharpen those skills I got a masters degree in filmmaking from The New York Film Academy. How did I reach out to the professionals? Just like anyone else, sitting on linkedin for days, sending x number of emails, x number of calls and messages, every single day. One cruel part about our job is that this never ends. We’ll have to keep doing this for the rest of our lives, because I can’t make a movie alone, I can write it, maybe produce it, but still can’t fulfill all the roles. It is a work that requires a team, a team full of passionate people who are just as crazy as you.

I don’t know if many people would agree but I consider my job as the hardest job ever because we not only creat a whole world from just a blank page but at the same time we’re responsible to educate, entertain and inform the audience about our world all in less then two hours.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My dad always says that, “hardwork is the easiest way to success.” When I was young, I never understood it, I always faught with him and said,  “oh you just need to be smart to get the work done” but I was wrong, today when I’m 24 I realise that how right he is, that so far the one and only formula that has worked for me is hardwork. Showing up on time, doing your of job without complaints, understanding other’s point of view, listening to things carefully, these are all part of one emotion which is hardwork.

These things not only landed me new jobs but also, always maintained a certain kind of reputation in front of other, these are some of the qualities that allowed me to stand out and hopefully will help people reading this too.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

For me, the best source of new clients are my old clients, it may sound strange but it’s the truth, in our industry the relationship you maintain with your previous client defines weather or not you’re gonna get work in future.

Maintaining a good/longstanding relationship with clients allows them to spread good information about you this not just limited to our market but everywhere. At the same time, working on improving your skills also helps you to fix new problems and hence land new clients.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @sahil_juneja___
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sahil.juneja.927?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahil-juneja-439516268?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: @sahil_juneja_

Image Credits
“Pranav Mehta” is the photographer for all the pictures.