At many family gatherings, the argument begins softly. A teenager lingers after dinner, phone in hand, showing a short film they edited at 2 a.m. A parent watches for a minute, impressed despite themselves, and then the familiar questions arrive. “But what will you do for a living?” “Is this even a real career?” “Isn’t the film industry only for people with contacts?”
I have heard these conversations in living rooms, dining tables, college corridors, and canteens, sometimes with a little anger, often with a lot of fear. Parents are not wrong to worry. In India, education has long been a promise of stability, and stability is how families recover from uncertainty. Film, by contrast, looks like uncertainty made visible.
And yet, cinema keeps pulling creative young people toward it, not only because of glamour but because images have become the language of our time. The same country that once told its children to become engineers now streams stories daily on phones, edits Reels between lectures, and learns software through YouTube. The work has changed. The pathways have changed. The risks have not disappeared, but the business expands and has become easier to access and understand if you look closely.
This essay is a parent's guide to film industry (Media Entertainment) realities rarely explained in one place. Not to romanticize a dream, and not to crush it either, but to make film as a career choice legible in the Indian context.
Why Film as a Career Choice Worries Most Parents
The first worry is social. In many Indian families, a child’s career is not just personal, it becomes a public statement. Relatives ask at weddings. Neighbours compare on morning walks. A job title becomes shorthand for worth. Film grads don’t get campus placements with 6 digit salaries. They must struggle and find suitable openings. Film resists tidy labels, especially at the beginning. When a student says, “I want to work in cinema,” a parent hears a blank space where a clear profession should be.
The second worry is uncertainty. Medicine and engineering have structured ladders: entrance exam, degree, internship, job. Even if the ladder is difficult, it is visible. The film industry rarely offers that kind of map. Many entry routes are informal, and early work often comes through recommendations, small gigs, and accumulated trust. Every film project is like a startup. Parents notice this and translate it into danger.
The third worry is the lack of a clear, socially accepted “career path.” In India, we often treat film as either stardom or failure, with very little vocabulary for everything in between. That is a cultural problem as much as an economic one. It leaves parents feeling that they are being asked to sign off on an unknown future, without proof that the child understands the consequences. Yet thousands of technicians, writers, and filmmakers work tirelessly in respectable careers across India, creating the ever growing libraries of digital content on streaming platforms.
Underneath all of it sits a deeper fear: the fear of wasted years. Indian parents have seen how easily a young adult can lose momentum, especially in careers that do not come with a campus placement cell and a predictable salary slip. Yes, this field requires a self driven mindset that markets themselves. When parents resist film as a career choice, they are often resisting the possibility of watching their child struggle without a safety net, or self driven mindset.
How Media Entertainment Actually Works for Students
Media Entertainment looks like an ocean for some and a single door from the outside for others. From the inside, it is more like a city: multiple neighbourhoods, multiple languages, multiple economies, and different kinds of work that rarely make headlines. Nothing is static and everything changes. For students, understanding this structure early is the difference between fantasy and planning.
To quote extracts from Mr. Kamal Hassan
Actor, producer, and Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment, South
“In the Media and Entertainment sector, two forces reign supreme: Content and the Audience. As we move into a digital first era, it’s our responsibility to serve them both with bold, creative storytelling that reflects the rich diversity of our nation. By harnessing this power, we can ensure the industry thrives and stays relevant in an ever evolving landscape. The creator economy we are nurturing has the power to shape society and influence the world. To realize this potential, government support is essential whether it’s through regulatory reforms, ease of business, access to credit, or training for emerging creators, technicians, and performers. Creative storytelling with emotional depth, and powerful performances will be in greater demand than ever. India’s technological strengths animation, VFX are positioning us to become a global hub for content production. By investing in intellectual property and nurturing talent, we can lead the way in global content creation. Collaboration across regions, languages and cultures will be key to building an inclusive and representative industry. Initiatives like this report from FICCI and EY helps bridge information gaps and set the foundation for progress. In the 25th year edition of this report, I urge all stakeholders to aim for a bold future, taking India’s M&E sector from a $28 billion to a $100 billion industry, with content that not only resonates with a billion Indians but captivates audiences across the globe.”
Film careers beyond acting and stardom
The most common misunderstanding is that film equals acting. Acting is visible, but visibility is not the same as volume. Most film work happens behind the camera, which involves years of planning, production and post production. Marketing and promotions also demand professionals.
A working set depends on assistant directors, production executives, who manage time and logistics. Production teams who negotiate locations and permissions, cinematographers and camera crews who translate a director’s intent into images, editors who shape rhythm and meaning, sound designers who build worlds you cannot see, costume designers who communicate character, art departments who create spaces that carry mood, and VFX teams who merge reality with imagination. Marketing and advertising teams promote the film and take it to audiences.
In India today, there is also a vast ecosystem outside feature films: streaming series, branded content, documentaries, music videos, event films, corporate communication, sports content, and regional digital studios. Students who think only of “Bollywood” miss the real breadth of a film career in Indian Cinema, especially for students willing to build skill and move across formats.
A parent does not need to know every job title. But it helps to replace the single word “films” with a richer picture of a media entertainment economy where multiple professions exist, and where long-term careers are built quietly through knowledge and craft.
Freelance culture, project-based work, and income reality
Here is the truth parents deserve without sugarcoating: much of Media Entertainment is freelance. People move from project to project. Income comes in bursts. Downtime is real. Even in established careers, the calendar can look uneven. For second and third generation media Entertainment this is accepted and comfortable. For others it is unsettling.
This is not unique to India, but we have our own complications: informal hiring, fast-changing business models, and wide gaps between top budgets and small productions. Early-stage work can involve long hours and modest pay, especially when a student is learning and building credits.
Project-based work also has logic and a competent graduate will find multiple ways to pay the bills between projects. Reputation functions like currency. Each finished project becomes proof of capability. The goal is not one big break; it is a steady accumulation of reliable work networks and relationships.
Parents often ask, “How will you earn?” A better question is, “How will you keep earning?” The answer usually lies in a portfolio, a network built through professionalism, and the ability to adapt across opportunities and mediums. A student who understands the freelance culture is already thinking like an adult in the industry.
Film Career for Students: Skills, Not Just Passion
Passion is common. Skill is rare, and skill is what makes a career. In conversations with young aspirants, I often notice a shift: they arrive speaking the language of love for cinema, and those who survive develop common sense and the language of craft.
This is where parents can help, not by insisting on a safer dream, but by insisting on seriousness.
Technical roles, creative discipline, and long-term learning
Cinema is art, but it is also a discipline. The difference matters. A student who wants to direct needs to learn writing, shot design, actor communication, and editing sensibility and production efficiency. A student drawn to cinematography needs not only an eye but also physics, lighting craft, camera systems, discipline and the patience to test, fail, and test again. Editing demands not just software fluency but storytelling judgment and emotional timing.
Many young people equate “creative” with “spontaneous.” The industry rewards something else: budget efficiency and repeatable excellence. The most respected technicians and creators are rarely the loudest. They are the ones who show up prepared, understand workflows, protect the team, respect the budget and keep improving.
A film career for students becomes sustainable when the student stops asking, “Do I have talent?” and starts asking, “Am I building a practice?” That practice might include watching films thoughtfully, analysing scenes, learning sound basics, writing consistently, assisting seniors, and accepting small jobs that build film practice.
Why formal training and mentorship matter
Indian Cinema has a strong culture of learning by apprenticeship, and film has historically relied on that. But the industry is more complex now. Technology changes quickly. Expectations are higher. Projects move faster. Formal training is not a guarantee of success, but it can shorten the time it takes to become employable.
Mentorship matters because one must constantly evolve and grow. Being mentored on the small rules you do not learn from tutorials: how to behave on set, how to communicate with seniors, how to give and receive feedback, how to protect your mental health in a high-pressure environment. A good mentor helps a student translate enthusiasm into competence.
Understanding the Real Risks in a Film Career
A responsible parent’s guide must talk about film career risks without melodrama. The risks are real, and they are not just financial. But the opportunities are many.
Financial instability, competition, and delayed success
The first risk is financial instability. Students can spend early years assisting, interning, or doing low-paid work while learning. Some families can support that. Many cannot. In India, where parents may still be paying home loans and supporting extended relatives, this is not a small concern. But it is noted that young people with financial needs put the nose down and deliver the needful, working their way up to a long and fruitful career. And young people who are not pressed for needs tend to shop for opportunities and often end up in some other field.
The second risk is competition. There are more aspirants than opportunities, especially in headline roles like direction and acting, all seeking lead roles. Many skilled people cluster in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, and increasingly in smaller digital hubs. That concentration creates a culture of comparison. Content creation in whichever area is in great demand and delivering good quality content can gain recognition and livelihood while honing one's skills.
The third risk is delayed success. Even talented professionals often take years to gain recognition or become steady earners. Film careers can look stagnant from the outside, even when progress is happening internally through credits, recommendations, and skill growth. The student must prepare for the long journey ahead, delivering good work consistently, as short cuts may fail.
A practical way to think about this is to separate “recognition” from “employability.” Recognition might take a decade. Employability can be built much sooner if the student focuses on in-demand skills and professional habits. For this attitude and mindset are important.
Mental pressure, rejection, and social comparison
The emotional risk deserves equal attention. Rejection is routine. Silence is routine too, which can be worse. A message on what’s app or email. A promised call that never comes. A gig that goes to someone else because they were available sooner. In this field one must grow beyond needy and become a go-getter. A rejection means time to improve, work on your skills, and keep seeking work.
Social comparison is the biggest challenge India’s young people face. Their school friends post offer letters and promotions. Trade and business numbers, awards and recognitions are posted all over social meia feeds, their relatives forward government job notifications. Meanwhile, a film student is working on an unpaid short, assisting someone, telling themselves it will matter later. That gap between effort and external validation can create anxiety and disappointment.
Parents can sometimes unintentionally increase this pressure by using comparison as motivation. Constant comments and judgements on films, and constant comparison often backfires. It makes young people dejected, they hide setbacks, which is dangerous in a field where mental resilience has to be part of the job.
If you want to protect your child, do not demand constant proof of success. Demand honesty, work discipline, discuss process, progress, and wellbeing. Watch films to understand the filmmakers intention, see what worked and what did not. Know that as the filmmakers grow their films improve too. The healthiest professionals I have met in cinema are not those who never struggle. They are those who speak about struggle early, and build routines that help them endure it.
What Parents Should Look for in Film Education and Training
Choosing training is where families in India often lose the plot. The market is crowded: degrees, diplomas, weekend workshops, masterclasses with famous names. Some are excellent. Some are simply expensive hopes. A visit to the campus and a discussion with the faculty are the best place to start. Is the training for a good life or just a job? The world is changing so fast, one is better off learning to be a life long learner than to just prepare for a job.
Degree, diploma, or practical film training - what actually helps
In a field as hands-on as cinema, the format matters less than the outcomes. A degree can help if it offers structured learning, credible faculty, and repeated opportunities to make work in real conditions. A diploma can be just as valuable if it is intensive, practical, and connected to working professionals. Short courses can be useful for exploration or for upgrading a specific skill.
What actually helps a student in India is a sound course structure that ensures knowledge, discussion and confidence in a training environment that produces three things: a portfolio, professional habits, and industry literacy. Portfolio means finished work that shows competence. Professional behaviours and habits means punctuality, collaboration, responsibility, and attention to detail. Industry literacy means understanding credits, contracts, hierarchies, set protocols, and how the ME business works, along with the difference between a passion project and a paid job.
One example of a college designed around this kind of industry adjacency is Annapurna College of Film and Media, known in short as Annapurna College, based in Hyderabad. It sits within the Annapurna Studios complex, and that physical proximity changes the learning atmosphere. Students are not only studying filmmaking; they are absorbing how the business works, how a working studio breathes, the professional demands and expectations. Its degree programs are affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, which matters to parents looking for government-recognized pathways, while its studio-based environment speaks to the practical reality of the way films are made and marketed.
Training does not replace talent. But for many students, it replaces guesswork with a clearer view of what the job demands.
Red flags in film institutes and unrealistic promises
Parents should be especially alert to institutions that sell certainty. The film industry does not offer guaranteed stardom, and any institute that implies guaranteed placements in creative roles is not being honest. Today anyone who can fund a project can make a film, but can they reach it to the market? For every film released, hundreds are made and never seen.
Watch for schools that focus more on celebrity association than on student work, or that hide their facilities behind brochures. Watch for vague curriculum language that sounds inspiring but does not describe actual production practice or market stakeholders. Watch for programs where students do not consistently do film practice, record sound, edit, and screen their work under critique.
Another red flag is when an institute discourages students from learning the unglamorous basics. Cinema is built on basics. A student who cannot handle feedback, manage a schedule, label files, back up footage, or communicate clearly will struggle no matter how artistic they are.
A good institute does not promise the moon. It builds a student who will seek a good life and survive on earth.
How Parents Can Support a Film Career Without Blind Faith
Support does not have to mean a blank cheque and unquestioning approval. In fact, the most useful parental support often looks like thoughtful structure.
Set expectations, give realistic timelines, and ensure backup plans instead. That's what Akkineni Nageswara Rao, the Founder of Annapurna Studios and Annapurna College did for his family, as they in turn did for theirs. When we look around, all film connected families and Professionals who love Cinema, develop the generational grit that an Industry needs and takes, along with the mindset to diversify as opportunity presents itself.
Families do well when they treat film as a serious career choice with measurable milestones. That might include a timeline for learning fundamentals, a period for internships and assistant work, and a point where the student and family review financial sustainability. Film is a business as much as it is a passion. As one develops the business sense along with film sensibility it becomes a promising, lifelong career.
A backup plan does not mean betrayal. In India, it can be a pressure valve, a lifeline or a side business hustle. Many professionals build parallel skills that support their film path: teaching, editing corporate videos, working in advertising, designing, writing, or handling social media content. These are not “failures.” They are often well paying and keep a young filmmaker afloat while they pursue more ambitious work. India is known for the big weddings and every bride or groom wants to be the star of their event- calling for wedding videos to be created like love stories and sagas. A young filmmaker can do this with ease while honing their skills and earning excellent money to pay their bills. An honest day’s work creating value, is way better than a fake career.
The healthiest conversations I have witnessed are not “film versus safe career.” They are “film plus work plus financial intelligence.” Adapting to what’s available, earning, budgeting, saving during good months, avoiding debt traps, and learning to negotiate fair pay are part of the journey no one talks about.
The most powerful thing a parent can encourage is consistent output, wholesome attitudes and discipline. Not endless dreaming, but finished work. A short film completed teaches more than ten scripts abandoned. Only then can a student get an internship, and build an impressive portfolio. An internship on a set teaches more than a year of watching behind-the-scenes videos. Internships also correct illusions. Students learn that filmmaking is professional teamwork with humility, and not individual genius. They learn call times, hierarchies, and the quiet pride of doing a small job well.
Parents sometimes worry that internships exploit students. That can happen. But exploitation is less likely when a student is supported at home to research the company hiring, ask questions, demand clarity, and to walk away from unsafe environments. A parent’s role is not to micromanage the career, but to keep the student anchored in self-respect.
When Film Becomes a Sustainable Career Choice
Most parents want a simple answer: when do we know it is working?
Sustainability in Media Entertainment is not a single moment. It is a continuous and rapidly expanding landscape with multiple business and content opportunities emerging. It is highly competitive as any other business. A student moves beyond hobby level when their effort produces repeatable results and when other professionals see the value, and are willing to pay. In time trust is built.
You see a future possible when the student knows and explains the role they are preparing for, aiming for and why. You see it when they can show constant effort to improve and find work, create an impressive portfolio, not just talk about one chance or lucky project. You see it when internships lead to more opportunities, when seniors call them again, when they understand basic contracts and deliver, when they invest in their learning without being told.
You also see it in maturity: the ability to take feedback without collapsing, the ability to work long hours without becoming reckless, the ability to collaborate without ego battles. In India’s film ecosystems, reputations travel faster than resumes. A student who becomes known as reliable is already building a career.
At 18 a young person’s body may be fully grown, they may appear to be adults, but their brains are still developing until the age of 28 years. Human development and maturity takes time. Can we give them this time to explore, discover and find their career pathways with encouragement? Film as a career choice is hard work and full of challenges, but with the right approach and guidance, it begins to look less like a gamble and more like a demanding profession, like so many others. One that rewards perseverance, continuous learning, and supportive relationships.
Final Advice for Parents Considering the Film Industry Path
If your child is drawn to cinema, you do not have to pretend the path is easy. It is not. A filmmaking/ Film acting career has many risks that are part of the landscape: uncertain income, intense competition, and a psychological toll that families sometimes underestimate.
I can name a dozen other professionals that have similar risks. But it is also true that Indian cinema and media have expanded far beyond the old myth of a single gatekeeper.
Regional industries are strong. Streaming has created new kinds of work and business opportunities. Advertising and branded storytelling have professionalized. Technology has lowered some barriers while raising expectations for skill.
Your most constructive position is neither blind faith nor blanket refusal. It is an informed partnership. Ask for seriousness, not perfection or fame. Encourage training that builds real competence. Insist on discipline, continuous practice and financial planning. Offer emotional steadiness when rejection arrives, because it will.
And remember something that often gets lost in family conversations: stability is not only a salary. It is also intrinsic satisfaction, inner growth, identity, craft, and the ability to build a life you can respect. Some young people find that respect in a hospital or a courtroom. Some find it in an artistic pursuit, in an edit suite at midnight, shaping meaning out of raw footage.
When parents learn to see film not as a fantasy but as a field of skilled work, the conversation changes. It becomes less about permission and more about preparation. That shift, quiet as it is, can be the difference between a dream that collapses and a career that slowly, steadily takes form.
For more details about the Media Entertainment Sector read the detailed FICCI M&E 2025 report: https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/en-in/insights/media-entertainment/images/ey-shape-the-future-indian-media-and-entertainment-is-scripting-a-new-story.pdf