The biggest challenge when you decide to pursue a career in media is the uncertainty of work and income. It's hard to plan your finances. One day you have a lot of money and for the next 2 months you may not have any. Another challenge is to deal with your audience, their opinions, their judgements, comments on you and your work.
1. Tell us about your background and journey.
Hailing from Kerala, but born and brought up in Chennai, I got to experience the best of both worlds. Having completed my B.Com and Masters in Human Resources, I decided I’d keep that as backup and then dived right into a world I knew nothing about, the world of media.
At 19, I did my first TV show ever. Gandharva Sangeetham on Kairali TV in Malayalam. I juggled college and work at the same time. While it was hard to juggle both, it was fulfilling to gain financial independence early. At 20, I recorded my first film song. I earned the title of a 'playback singer'.
At 22, I literally had my identity carved for me professionally. I went on to become the anchor of an extremely popular reality show 'Super Singer' on Star Vijay. I hosted that show for a few years. Won the best anchor award a few times from various publications and academies.
Ever since, the last decade has been full of different TV shows, stage shows, travelling and performing, working on production of stage shows. At 30, I decided to start my own label, DVIJ, a saree label that caters to the traditional, contemporary and modern woman. It’s a line of work I am extremely passionate about and seeing my happy customers gives me a lot of satisfaction.
2. How did you come up with the idea of creating the label 'Dvij' and go about executing it?
It was a decision I made overnight. I was always fascinated with the 6 yards of elegance. You would always find me in fabric corners of every street and store looking at how to mix and match and coordinate and contrast, colors and designs. I decided to wear my own designs to several events and when I started doing that, people started taking notice.
That is when people started asking me to create designs for them. Starting something from scratch is always hard, but with the support and encouragement from my family, I decided to launch my own label and there it was DVIJ, my new beginning.
3. How do you describe yourself as a blogger, singer and anchor?
Blogger - Free-spirited. I like to speak my mind, unfiltered, to write straight from my heart. I write without the fear of being bogged down, or judged. I write to express. To ask. To help. To reflect. My writing describes my experiences, my up and downs, and if it helps someone along the way, that is a blessing in disguise.
Singer - Evaluative. I constantly assess where I am in terms of a musician or a music lover. No matter how I sing, I always consider myself work-in-progress. There is always more to learn and much more to perfect. I started training in music at the age of 5 and started performing at 8.
I've performed at numerous events over the years and music is my first love. Music will always be an integral part of my life. Unfortunately, a few years back, I had an acid reflux issue, and I had a small setback with my throat, but I am working on it one day at a time and I will be back with a bang soon.
Anchor - The girl next door. When I was on super singer everyday, people told me that they always felt like I was part of their family. I think the reason for that was because I stuck to being my natural self on TV. I knew if I had put on an act, the audience would've easily seen through that. And my career would've just gone kaput right there.
4. What are the challenges you face and how do you overcome it?
The biggest challenge when you decide to pursue a career in media is the uncertainty of work and income. It's hard to plan your finances. One day you have a lot of money and for the next 2 months you may not have any. Another challenge is to deal with your audience, their opinions, their judgements, comments on you and your work.
You have to be mindful of the fact that you're constantly in the public eye. You have to learn to take love and criticism in the same spirit. And lastly, the most daunting challenge is to stay relevant, in today's times. The world is moving too fast and frankly there is so much of talent out there. Nobody is indispensable. Out of sight can easily be out of mind.
5. What is your idea of success in life?
Success has so many denominators for me. Success to me is constantly discovering myself, constantly pushing myself to do things I thought I couldn’t, be it at home or at work. I find having a home, a family, a career, and the ability to fulfil certain dreams of mine, success.
I don’t like being in a rat race. I don’t define success by getting ahead of the others in any field. I think being able to own what I do in every aspect is my success.
6. How do you plan to take your career forward?
I will continue to do stage shows, and pursue being a designer. I am an entrepreneur at heart and I am constantly brainstorming on ideas, to broaden my repertoire. Who knows, I might be back on TV some day. Let’s just say I have a few ideas and I hope to share them sooner than later.
Divya Vijay Tharakan
Instagram id - @divuvj
Website - Life and its lemons
Interviewed by - Ananie Borgia
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