Neel Oza | The Entrepreneurs of India Magazine June 2022

Neel Oza thought of starting his career in the field of filmmaking and photography when he was just 19. Just with his phone, he loved clicking pictures. “My photography skills were appreciated by my family and friends.” His family also gifted him a camera and eventually, he started receiving orders.

“I was amazed to see myself getting so engrossed in this. I was left with no other dream, but this.” He realized the world through these lenses and this made him a new person than he was before with a different perspective.

When you sign a project, think of it as a new challenge, where you are keen to know more and correct your past mistakes”, says Neel. “One must have patience with himself. “Don't even try to rush your work just to complete it. Patience is key to this industry.” One must make sure to learn something every day on sets or on any shoot. It will help them in their career.

Every father or mother usually thinks that their child should be a CA, engineer, or a Doctor, but in today's generation, every field has value. “My parents were very supportive of what I wanted to become in my life. They believed in me and they let me see my future through my eyes.”

As he had no family background in this field, it was difficult in the initial days to cope with the people in this industry, the way they worked, and to flow with the process was a bit hard for Neel.

At the beginning of his journey, he was an amateur filmmaker and was also unfamiliar with various photography tricks and techniques. As a student in film school, he started with short films, documentaries, and advertisements.

“I also started capsule courses before graduation to make myself stand up in front of the crowd. To be in the best of colleges I waited for 10-12 months without compromising. Through his cinematography and photography skills, people start looking at things from a different perspective, which they haven't ever visualized before.

“All I want to say is that people should always follow their passion, their dreams. Don't step back before trying.” He believes that we should give it a try, and get up again every time we fall. “Think of it like this, it’s not a failure it’s a lesson you should learn and move ahead. You should be your own motivation. I wanted to learn from the best universities and best guiders and gain the best knowledge I could get.”