A fortnight ago, Mumbai-based social worker and Oye’s Founder/President Siddhant Mohite launched Mumbai_Uncensored a platform for photographers to showcase their view of Mumbai to the world. In this interview to Spectralhues, he asserts his thoughts and the central idea behind starting it, how it is different from the other pages and initiatives of the kind and a lot more. Below are the transcripts of the interview:
Tell us about Mumbai_Uncensored and your thoughts behind starting it.
Mumbai_Uncensored is a platform, which was basically started to show people the unseen pictures of the city. We feature only those pictures, which give the feeling of ‘JourneyThroughTheLens’ to our followers. I feel people get to travel through the streets of Mumbai after looking at the pictures we post. And young amateur photographers also need a pat on their back for doing good work. So, we’re trying to give them a small token of appreciation. Soon, thousands of people would be appreciating hundreds of photographers per hour.
How is it being managed? Are you the only person or do you have a team for it?
Right now, we have one intern. We will soon get a few content writers on board and in the first week of November, we’ll start recruiting other interns, photographers and writers too. This is a not-for-profit initiative. So, we expect people to help us voluntarily. And I am sure we’ll get like-minded people soon.
Who constitutes of the panel for selection of the photographs received?
Right now, we are a team of two people only.
There are already many Instagram pages which provide a platform and are quite popular too. How is Mumbai_Uncensored different from them?
We have already got 23,471 likes on our pictures (statistics till the time the interview was done). We are not going to limit ourselves to work only on Instagram. Once we get a good response for Mumbai Uncensored, we’ll start organizing get-togethers for photographers; seminars, informative sessions, photographer’s walks, etc., for our fans. Workshops for amateur photographers is going to be our focus, if this works out well. It all depends on the people. We are doing it for the people.
Famous photographers, who are well known in the city would be guiding our young amateur photographers in workshops conducted by Mumbai_Uncensored. But we will at least need 20k photographers following the page, so that pitching good speakers would become a bit easier for us.
Mr Siddhant Mohite, Founder/President of OYE
What is the central idea behind starting Mumbai_Uncensored?
Showing the unseen part of Mumbai to Instagrammers and giving a platform to those who have a different perspective, knowledge of composition in photography and those who really deserve a pat on their back for travelling so much, clicking hundreds of pictures and getting featured for one.
Given the fact that there are too many other such Instagram pages, are there any challenges you are facing for marketing/promoting Mumbai_Uncensored?
We’re not marketing Mumbai_Uncensored at all. We’re not doing anything at all. We’re just putting all our efforts in choosing pictures and posting them. As and when we get good people to work with us, we’ll start marketing, promotions, etc.
Where do you see your page in the coming months?
We see the page crossing 3,000 followers and 30,000 likes in the next week. Right now, we have 2329 followers and 23,471 likes (statistics till the time the interview was done). In December, we hope to cross 5,000 followers.
Mumbai_Uncensored Instagram page
What is the strategy and the plans you have drawn for Mumbai_Uncensored?
A team of 10-12 people would be formed in mid-November — 4 interns, 4 content writers and 4 photographers. They’ll post one picture per hour, which, I guess, no other Mumbai city-related page does on Instagram.
Do you think Mumbai Uncensored, as an Instagram page, will have a different status amidst the others of the kind?
We will try to post approximately 1000 pictures a month and after we complete 1000 posts, we will organize a Walk-a-thon for photographers. And all the participants of this event would be our organizing team for the further events like workshops, seminars, etc. We are not only promoting street photography, but also encouraging, training, guiding photographers for their career. We are also planning to give our forms for our photographers, register them officially, and give them ID cards. I don’t think so any other page is doing this, as of now. Being a social worker, I think I should also work for the betterment in the fields like photography, music, art, dance, etc. Our youngsters are very talented, they have a lot of potential, energy and hope from people around them. A small token of appreciation might make someone a big person in life.
It is not just about inspiring people, you also need to stand behind them and be their backbone. We will also organize photography sessions for kids from the slums who are willing to become photographers some day. If we unite photographers from all over Mumbai and help underprivileged kids become photographers, I think we will assume that we have achieved our initiative’s aim that day. I am working in the social field since 8 years. Photographs have given a different touch to my career. I am not a photographer, but I really wish to do something for them. Not only photographers, but I’ll soon be launching dozens of other initiatives for our youngsters, all over India. I am just waiting for the right time! (Smiles)
Tags: india Instagram Mumbai Mumbai Uncensored OYE Siddhant Mohite
