Sucharita Tyagi is an Indian film critic and former radio jockey.[1] Born and brought up in New Delhi, India, she moved to Mumbai, transitioned into web content in 2015, and records weekly review videos for Film Companion.

Sucharita Tyagi
Tyagi in 2019
Born (1988-07-20) 20 July 1988 (age 36)
New Delhi, India
EducationSt. Xavier's College, Mumbai
Occupations
  • Film critic
  • video content creator

Early life

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Sucharita Tyagi was born in New Delhi, India.[2][3] She attended Modern School, Barakhamba Road and graduated with a major in science.[2][3]

Career

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Radio jockey (2007–14)

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After graduating with a degree in Communications Studies and Journalism from the Indraprastha University, Tyagi began working as a voice over artist in New Delhi.[2] At 19, she successfully auditioned for a job as a radio jockey at a Delhi-based FM channel.[4] She worked at the Delhi stations of such channels as Red FM and Big FM, before moving to Mumbai, Maharashtra in 2010 to pursue post graduate education and further her career as a radio station host.[5]

I studied medicine till high school [but] shifted my talents to communications studies for a Bachelor’s Degree, and that is when I fell in love with broadcast media. I [...] started Radio two years after that, in 2007. Since then, it’s been a tumultuous way forward. I’ve worked with some of the top most Radio brands in India, and have loved every bit of it. - Tyagi, on choosing a career as kn radio.[2]

Tyagi enrolled in a filmmaking course at the St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and simultaneously began working as programme host for the Mumbai-based FM station Radio City.[2][5] She hosted the programme Freedom Live, which was aimed at promoting Indian independent music.[5] The show was noted for its emphasis on lesser known artists and music.[5][6]

She received attention for a starting a fundraiser to help Nikita Shukla—a visually impaired law student; the story was picked up by several media outlets.[7][8][9] The campaign was widely shared and received attention from films actors and politicians based in Mumbai.[10]

YouTube (2015–present)

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Tyagi continued to work with Radio City until 2017, hosting Mumbai Masala; she interviewed various Bollywood and regional artists, then joined film review website Film Companion.[6]

When I mailed the first ever review to production, in the subject I wrote, "Not a Movie Review", and so we decided to call it that! [In my reviews], I simply say what a movie makes me feel, because that is how cinema should be appreciated." - Tyagi, on the title of her series and her style of writing film reviews.[11]

Tyagi's first review video was released on Film Companion's YouTube channel in September 2015 under the title of "Not a Movie Review".[12][13][14]

Tyagi was appointed a member of the Film Critics Guild, one of India's first film critics association[13] as she continued to record weekly reviews for the "Not a Movie Review" series.[15][4][16] Some reviews received good amount of criticism, and sparked controversies and debates among artists and critics.[17][18][19][20][21]

Tyagi made her film acting debut with a supporting role in the 2019 short film Lutf, co-starring Mona Singh and Vinay Pathak.[22] A select few of episodes of "Not a Movie Review" were later compiled and released as a web series on Disney+ Hotstar under the same title in March 2020.[23] Later that year, Tyagi played herself in Vikramaditya Motwane's black comedy, AK vs AK; also starring Anurag Kashyap and Anil Kapoor as fictionalised versions of themselves, the production utilises a film-within-a-film narrative. AK vs AK was released on Netflix on 20 December to positive response from critics.[24]

In 2020, Tyagi launched her own clothing line in partnership with online retailer KadakMerch[25] and started her own YouTube channel, posting weekly film reviews under the title "Ghar Se Movie Review".[26] She also writes for other online media portals and publications.[13][27][28][29]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
2020 AK vs AK Herself
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2020 Not a Movie Review Herself Web series; 63 episodes

References

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  1. ^ Haridas, Keerthana (14 August 2023). "FII Interviews: Sucharita Tyagi Talks About Her Journey From RJ To Film Critic, Women-Oriented Films And Censorship". Feminism in India. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Interview, Sucharita Tyagi". Gradatory.in. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via Interview Portal.
  3. ^ a b "Interview, Sucharita Tyagi". DTU Times. Delhi Technological University. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b Kurain, Anila (22 March 2020). "Feminist voice in a male world". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Sood, Akhil (31 January 2015). "Bollywood killed the radio star: long live the radio star". Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  6. ^ a b "A Conversation with Sucharita Tyagi of Film Companion and Radio City". The Bollywood Project. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via Spotify.
  7. ^ Naithani, Guara (17 May 2017). "A Heart-Warming Tale Of How An RJ Got Mumbai To Fund A Blind Girl's Education". Scoopwhoop. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Win for humanity: Strangers come forward to help blind girl who chose education over family". India Today. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  9. ^ "India Positive: Blind girl abandoned by parents, helped by RJ and strangers". Economic Times. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  10. ^ "Inspiring! This RJ and Mumbaikars helped to raise money for a visually impaired law student". The Indian Express. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  11. ^ "How not to review a movie!". School Live. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Welcome Back Not a Film Review, Sucharita Tyagi, Film Companion". Film Companion. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2020 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ a b c "Sucharita Tyagi". The Cherry Picks. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  14. ^ Vadlapati, Rajashekar (14 September 2019). "VoxTalks With Sucharita Tyagi : 'You Become A Film Critic, Because You Love Movies'". Vox Space. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Kabir Singh Not a Movie Review, Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Film Companion". Film Companion. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ "Do Reviews Matter? Rajeev Masand, Sucharita Tyagi, Ankur Pathak, Podcast, Bollywood Uncovered". BBC. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2021 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Rangan, Bharadwaj. "Kabir Singh, Article 15 Review | Spoilers | Let's Talk Movies". YouTube.
  18. ^ Devarakonda, Vijay; Bajpayee, Manoj; Padukone, Deepika; Khurrana, Ayushman. "The Best Performances Of The Decade Decoded | Film Companion". YouTube.
  19. ^ Vanga, Sandeep Reddy. "Sandeep Vanga Reddy on his films, processes and beliefs | Film Companion". YouTube.
  20. ^ Vanga, Sandeep Reddy. "Sandeep Reddy Vanga BASHES & TROLLS Film Critics & Their Negative Reviews | Kabir Singh". YouTube.
  21. ^ Bajpayee, Manoj. "Why Manoj Bajpayee supports Kabir Singh! | Sit With Hitlist". YouTube.
  22. ^ "Mona Singh, Vinay Pathak's Lutf to focus on mental health". Outlook. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  23. ^ "Not A Movie Review with Sucharita Tyagi". Disney+ Hotstar. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  24. ^ "AK vs AK". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  25. ^ "Sucharita Tyagi". KadakMerch. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  26. ^ "Sucharita Tyagi". Sucharita Tyagi. Retrieved 19 April 2020 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ Banerjee, Rushmika (30 September 2019). "Style, Trends". Verve. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Sucharita Tyagi". The Weather Channel. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  29. ^ "Cancel Culture Began As Hyperbole, With No Real Life Impact: Film Critic Sucharita Tyagi". NDTV. 24 October 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
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