Sunayan Bhattacharjee

Background

About Sunayan Bhattacharjee

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Quite a loaded statement, isn’t it! Well, it is! However, that is exactly what defines me as an individual. An uncompromising believer in humanism, inclusivity and gender neutrality; dialectics gives me the kicks and life gives me the highs. At a time when the world is taking a distinct conservative turn, I tend to go against the tide in my efforts to establish a counter narrative. It is my firm conviction that only disagreements have the ingrained ability to create a meaningful discourse. Agreements, on the other hand, lead to mediocrity. In my pursuit to be just and reasonable, I express my opinions through my writings – an entity that I believe is rather underrated in terms of crafting an alternative world order. I am also a voracious reader and a film buff. Indeed, literature and cinema truly reflect the collective consciousness of a society. However, professionally, I have a cumulative experience of more than 15 years in the news and academic domains. I am currently an Associate Professor of Mass Communication at the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (DLHS) under the Bengaluru Campus of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE). Previously, I was an Associate Professor and Head of the Department (HoD) at the School of Media and Communication (SOMC) under Adamas University (AU) in Kolkata. I have also been an Assistant Professor and Course Leader (CL) with the School of Contemporary Media under Pearl Academy in Delhi. I have the distinction of having worked with leading organizations such as Reuters, The Times of India (ToI) and Ramoji Film City (RFC). I have a PhD in Film Studies from the School of Liberal Studies (SLS) under Pandit Deendayal Energy University (PDEU) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Prior to that, I completed Master in Mass Communication (MMC) with specialization in Journalism from the prestigious Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication (SIMC) in Pune. I also have a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Political Science from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, I am a UGC-NET qualified scholar in Mass Communication and Journalism. For my PhD thesis, I studied the surrealist works of renowned American filmmaker David Lynch, who was described by The Guardian as "the most important director of this era". When I look back, I find that my career has been a tale of missed opportunities and faulty steps. However, that is what human beings do – fail repeatedly – and I have been no exception.