documentary film research is not a full-fledged profession by itself in india, with most documentary film makers preferring to do their own research due to the shoestring budgets that they operate upon.



a teacher by profession, i joined the national centre for performing arts (ncpa) in 1992 as a research assistant in their theatre development centre. it was a highly academically-oriented job that involved building the theatre history of various regions like maharashtra, gujarat and bengal.
we used information in all forms; newspaper clippings, photographs and magazines, to construct theatre archives. it was at ncpa that i met documentary film maker benoy behl, who at that time, was doing films for doordarshan on world heritage monuments.
i carried out the research for six of his films. 'taj mahal: the greatest tribute to love', 'konark: the sun god's chariot', and 'khajuraho: a celebration of life', were some of these. this marked my official foray into the profession. it was like studying history all over again, trying to reconstruct a portion of bygone eras, and understanding them in a different light.
typically, the research will get translated into scripts, commentaries or photo captions for the film. the thrill that you experience when your work is utilised is incomparable.
what it takes
you need to be propelled by a craving for information in order to be a successful researcher. it's almost akin to a physical craving - you must be driven to get to the bottom of things. attention to detail is also very important, the smallest of pinheads may provide you valuable inroads to dig deeper. additionally, a documentary film researcher needs to have a passion for history and languages.
i am currently learning sanskrit so that i can actually read the ancient texts and experience them as they were. tenacity is another important attribute - you need to keep going at it even when you don't think you are making any apparent headway, because you never know what will give you your next lead. a researcher also has to be unbiased, he provides the facts, which may be good or bad. the director decides which angle to focus on.
meet the challenges
in india, people interested in research per se are very few. apart from that, many people are not even aware that research can make a world of difference to the work. people destroy records without realising that they are actually destroying a time in history. such an unscientific approach to the discipline, coupled with low finances, makes documentary film research a profession hard to sell.
getting around
getting an assignment means being in the right place at the right time. i constantly keep tabs on the market, and on who is doing what. when there's a slack, i supplement my income through translations. or take the time to read.
as told to anuradha ganapathy.
careerscope
the ideal way to begin your career is as a documentary film researcher. some courses you could do are:
the comparative mythology course at mumbai university
the museology course at national museum institute, new delhi
the museology course offered at ms university baroda.

remuneration : no standardised pay scales exist. it all depends on your level of experience and the credibility that you can establish in the field.