Making the cut

He gradually realised that this editing had nothing to do with his computer course. Nevertheless,he managed to float through and bagged his first paycheck for Rs 4,000 with Cinevista Productions.

Looking back,his tryst with the editing table seems to have proved to be his lucky charm. For,he has just won his third editing award — this time,it is the Boroplus Gold Award for ‘Best Editing’ for the popular tele-serial CID. Vats has been editing and directing the show for six years now.

However,soon after his first job at Cinevista,Vats landed his first independent tele-serial editing project,with Shhh..Koi Hai in 2005.

But it was only after winning an award for ‘Best Editing’ from the British Council for the short film Black Freedom,Vats was elevated to the big league.

“This got me a job with Balaji,and then after assisting CID’s BP Singh,I got Aahat. And now,I have CID,“ says Vats,who went on to work on shows such as Kya Haadsa Kya Haqeeqat,CID Special Bureau,Super Cop, Aahat, Jaan Khilavan Jasoos and Guturgoo.

Being an editor also proved to be a fertile ground for picking up tips on direction. Currently,he is working on his debut project,an eight-minute film,Bibo. “All the credit goes to my editing experience,where I learnt how films are shaped,packaged,produced,made smarter,crisper and worthy of an audience,” he says.

In the film,Vats weaves an interesting story of a boy and girl stranded in a train compartment,who are then confronted by a group of boys and girls. “I shot this while I was on way for a friend’s wedding in Jabalpur on a simple handycam,” says Vats.

And now,Vats wants to move on to romance and drama. “I am a great admirer of romantic films and dramas. I want to make those films too,” says Vats,who is all set to release his first film very soon.