Riya Bajaj whom we had seen as a child artist in many ads (Camlin, Colgate, ICICI Bank, Hero Honda, LG TV) and films like Kyun Ho Gaya Na as a child artist is a grown-up young girl who is into photography too.
1. Your acting journey started quite early – tell us something about that.
My acting journey started when I was two and a half years old. My sister Sheena (TV actress) and I wanted to get into acting as a kid and we both did lots of ads. When I was three and a half years old I did my first ad which was for a famous toothpaste brand and it was a print shoot. After that, I had a three and a half year contract with them. My posters were all around town. My mom and I were traveling and the first time she saw my hoarding, she had tears in her eyes and it was a moment of pride for her. Later on, I did a lot of other ads like a popular bank, car, and electronics items.
2. Looking back, did you miss your childhood Masti and school fun as you were busy doing commercials and also acting?
I didn’t miss masti for sure! I had a lot of masti on sets. The acting was so much fun. As kids, we didn’t even know that we were acting because it was very natural to us. We did a movie Kyun Ho Gaya Na with Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, and Aishwarya Rai. Everyone on set was so sweet. Vivek Oberoi would get chocolates on the sets and play with us. Even post pack up we used to have a lot of fun. Shooting is something that I enjoyed and being on set was the best experience that we could have.
3. Your parents have supported both the sisters unconditionally on their career choices – what do you have to say about that?
My parents are the reason for all our achievements. They have really pushed me and Sheena to come up in life. They are the source of my motivation and inspiration. My mom has always supported me. My father is a fashion photographer himself. All the talent that I have today is because of him. I think parental support is most important for a child’s growth and without them, we wouldn’t have been at this stage today. I feel really blessed and grateful for everything that they have done for us.
4. Your journey as a celebrity photographer, how and when it started, share in details
My journey started when I first shot my sister Sheena Bajaj. She really loved the pictures that I shot for her and mentioned that I had a great sense of angle and framing. She was the one who encouraged me to pursue it as a career. I definitely had more interest in doing something behind the scenes. I enjoyed editing, shooting, and making ad campaigns. When I was studying at Jai Hind College and doing my bachelor’s in Mass Media, my HOD Varalakshmi ma’am seeing my dedication towards studies made me the CR, and later seeing my talent shooting events made me the media head for events to cover the photos and videos. This was when I realized my potential and took the decision of making it a full-time profession
5. Who and why has been your best experience of shooting?
My next shoot is always my best shot and that is what I believe in. Every day I believe we improve and have a new experience to learn and grow.
6. Why do you feel women photographers are less in the field?
Female photographers and DOP are a blessing in disguise. We have more sense in styling, make-up, and hair. And I also feel girls should come forward and follow their dreams. I have got the support of my family from day one and I have never faced any discouragement from my family.
7. What tips would you like to give to the budding photographers?
It’s not about the equipment that they shoot with, but it’s the vision that they have. What they want to create is a composition that they have created in their minds. It all depends on how they want to execute it. If you have passion, dedication, and hard work, you can achieve your goals in life and even the sky is not the limit. So just go out and start shooting.
