MCVA IQAC Report 2023

MCVA, or Mass Communication & Videography, is a course that has produced a batch of outgoing students who have achieved notable academic and co-curricular accomplishments. These achievements have given them a strong foundation for their future careers in the field. Students who are currently enrolled in the course have already gained notable industry experience in the fields of filmmaking, graphic designing, journalism, marketing and many others by working with reputed organisations and festivals to the likes of Kolkata International Film Festival, ITC, 91.9 Friends FM, Sony Liv, Netflix, Sony TV, Spotify, Star Jalsha, Pantaloons, ABP Network, Toast Media & Marketing, Suta Bombay, RDB Cinemas, WWF, JU Community Radio, Studio K77, Madaari Communications, Nikore Associates, Theisms India, Fluttr, Dagina, Awaaz NGO, OnOff Online Digital Marketing Agency, Pixel Per Inch Studios, Stan App, Graphvision, Udbhab, Universal Tribes, Youth Empowerment Foundation, AllState India, Ufaber Edutech, Voiceworx Events, Just Social, Recruit CRM, Gamerheads, Digital Puzzle, San Entertainment, Kanasa Weddings, Taare Zameen Foundation, QeD, Holo Image, Lagan Mandap, Decode Football, Fandomwire, Youth India Foundation, Younity, LearnX, Bong Junction, Script Productions, Ranikuthi Jion Kathi, Aarohi News, and many more. Krishnungshu Gangopadhyay, co-authored an article on the late director Tapan Majumder with the Head of the Department, Prof. Dr. Ipsita Barat, which was published in the flagship magazine of the Dhaka International Film Festival. Another student, Tanisha Roy Choudhury, is currently working as a research assistant at the Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC) in Kolkata, which is a leading hub for media research in India.

The students of the MCVA Batch of ‘22 and ‘21 have been accepted into reputed institutions across the globe such as York University, Canada, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Boston University, Asian College of Journalism, Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute (SRFTI), St. Joseph’s University and are currently pursuing their masters’ degree in various fields such as journalism, digital marketing, editing and many more. Some of them have also received full scholarships for the same. Those not in academia, are pursuing their goals by working with reputed organisations such as India Headline News, Bengaluru (Hritam Mukherjee), SVF, WLDD Bangalore (Sneha Maulik), The Telegraph (Smera Marcia Toppo), and many more. Hritam Mukherjee from the Batch of 2021 has even been published by Vogue Italia for his profile of a destitute woman dressed up as Goddess Kali and his documentary on the disappearance of sparrows from urban spaces, which he made as a part of his fifth-semester MCVA curriculum, has been selected for a showcase in the Lift-Off Global Network Film Festival, UK.

Apart from the academic circle, the students of MCVA have also been involved in several co-curricular activities. Saarav Chakraborty played cricket for the National Athletic Club and was awarded the Man of the Match against Calcutta Parsee Club in the C.A.B. T-20 tournament (21-22) and Aamir Rizvi is an avid musician who performs across the city and also headlined the CCU Music Festival. Gracy Chaudhari from the batch of 2023 was also awarded a special appreciation prize for Kathak in a national-level dance competition conducted by the Classical Voice of India and Sayantika Jaiswal operates as the Regional Coordinator for Lions Club International. Sidra Erfan co-authored a book titled Tinted Shadows and Soumili Das’ photo stories and received the honour of publication in several web magazines. Ritam Dey from the batch of 2024 is an avid debater who also got featured in Goal India’s official premier league podcast twice. From the batch of 2025, Alkaria Hashmi is a professional actress who recently worked with Netflix for a film titled ‘Take Ten’ and with SVF for ‘Bodhon’. She has also worked as a voice actor for feature films with Ashish Avikunthak and featured in a music video for ‘Taalpatar Shepai’. She was also recently awarded the second runners-up position at the P.C Chandra Goldlites Diva 2023, a state-wide beauty pageant. Richik Mukherjee from this batch is a dubbing artist who has lent his voice for several films and TV shows such as Project 9191 (Sony Liv), Dr. Prisoner (Netflix), My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (Netflix), and Balveer, Aladdin and CID (Sony TV). Subhrajit Chakraborty’s short films ‘Learning’ and ‘Bibek-The Conscience’ received nominations from UK International Film Festival, Lift Off Sessions and Lift Off Global Sessions respectively. Subhrajit is also a news anchor and reported for Aarohi News and News Bartaman 24x7 and a former scriptwriter at Sun Bangla TV. Aishi Saha was one of the seven participants shortlisted from all over the country for the ‘Sing Dil Se’ cover contest and has several accolades to her name in the field. Ridoy Roy Chowdhury from the same batch is a talented photographer whose works have not only made him a semi-finalist at Canon Photohunt India but also earned him a spot at NYSP and Berlin School of Arts. Students of MCVA also take an active part in the cultural domain of the college and hold the position of secretaries, assistant secretaries, and core and working committee members in several societies and events such as the Xaverian Film Academy, Xaverian Academy of Dance and Music, Xaverian Debating Society, St. Xavier’s College Science Association, Fine Arts Society, Xaverian Theatrical Society, Xavotsav and many more.

The students of MCVA have also written and directed several short and feature-length films and been published in several magazines and journals. They have participated in and won several state-level, national-level, and international competitions and are currently pursuing several parallel courses related to the course.

Seminars & Workshops conducted by MCVA

• Ray @ 100

  On April 29th, 2022, their department witnessed a celebration of the maestro Satyajit Ray's life and achievements through the release of the film 'Aparajita 2022'. The cast and crew of the film were amongst them, sharing the intricacies of the process and how delightful it was to work on a film of this kind, paying tribute to one of the most legendary filmmakers to have lived. Anik Datta (director), Arghya Kamal Mitra (editor), Debojyoti Mishra (music composer), Saayoni Ghosh (actress), Firdausal Hasan (producer), and Agnijit Sen (radio jockey) were present at the event.

  Through the panel discussion, they learned about the amount of hard work that goes into the entire production of a project as big as Aparajita 2022. As aspiring filmmakers, the insights they received were extremely helpful. They also had an interactive question-and-answer segment where they could raise questions and inquire about anything they had doubts about the movie or even filmmaking in general. The guests were able to provide satisfactory answers to all their questions.

  The entire day was spent reminiscing about the techniques of Satyajit Ray himself and discussing the passage of time into the modern age of cinema. All in all, it was a fruitful day, where all of them engaged themselves in learning and indulging in an experience to remember.

• Visual Verification Workshop

  On 17th February 2023, a seminar was conducted on the importance of visual verification and fact-checking for the students of Mass Communication & Videography. The seminar was informative and was conducted by Prof. Ghazala Yasmin, a trainer from the Google News Initiative and the Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Aliah University (Park Circus Campus). She very intelligently divulged various techniques through which the attendees could fact-check the unlimited information available on the internet. Prof. Yasmin was bright and impressionable in her interactions, sparking interest through her cordial and comprehensible manner. Attendees were shown many examples of 'fake news' and were taught the many ways of recognizing and avoiding it. They were also introduced to various softwares and technologies that may aid in fact-checking any visual information available on the internet. The two-hour-long session helped the attendees to grasp the necessity to avoid falling prey to fake news and taught them the skills necessary in the pursuit of their passion in media.

• Moral Consciousness in Post Truth Era Seminar

  Professor Ananta Kumar Giri, from the Madras Institute of Development Studies, conducted a seminar on the 2nd of March, 2022 with the students from the Mass Communication Department. The crux of his session was the incorporation of Moral Consciousness in this modern so-called 'post truth' era of media and Web 3.0. He elucidated on various philosophies like pragmatism and tied them to the present-day global scenario. His clever witty approach diluted with his charming easy-going nature, made the entire session a memorable experience, to say the least. The time was also spent performing many interesting activities like enacting poems and mind games which kept the atmosphere lively and fun to optimize the amount of learning.