Mumbai: St. Xavier’s Hosts Zeitgeist Media Fest, Invites Vir Das And Mithila Palkar To The Event

Mumbai: Zeitgeist, the annual media festival hosted by St. Xavier's College's Department of Mass Communication and Journalism (BAMCJ), included fascinating panel discussions and expert insights, bringing together students from institutions throughout Mumbai.

It started with the StudyIN session, which was an effective introduction for most of the students to study abroad. They discussed the best international universities, which are in high demand, and how to study abroad through scholarships.

The most eagerly awaited session was the Artist Panel. It had comedian-producer Vir Das, actor Mithila Palkar, and rapper performer Srushti Tawade. They were sharing their views on the release of "Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos," which is an "action comedy series."

The level of understanding about the creative process has been very clear when Vir Das explained, "you have to let it feel authentic, like it happens in nature," where Mithila Palkar further added "keep it real."

Sports Broadcasting Panel had sports commentator and broadcaster Yash Jha, sports commentator Kunal Samant, and sports journalist Stalin Mathias who shed light on the opportunities available in sports broadcasting. Where as the Advertising and brands dominated the Advertising Panel moderated by industry expert Kiran Khalap, with industry professional Mansi Shah and brand strategist Mihir Chitre. The session analysed the changeover from conventional advertising to digital-oriented approaches with a focus on purpose-driven and target-oriented communications.

The Filmmaking Panel was anchored by film producers Kanu Behl and Arati Kadav, and discussed the key aspects of visual storytelling and the importance of having a good story in films. This was followed by the Content Creation Panel, which included Parth Kelkar, Pulkit Kochar, and Aamatullah Rajkotwala, all of whom discussed ways of growing the audience through authenticity and engagement on social platforms.

The Khirkee Festival was concluded by the Policy Panel, where the speakers were journalist and author Jaideep Hardikar, Prasanna Joshi policy analyst, and Kaustubh Dhavse, political strategist. During the panel, several issues, including the problem of development versus displacement, issues related to rehabilitation, as well as the privacy issues in the digital era, were also raised.