City’s Myleeta gets another call-up to Emmys

“It is an honour when hard work gets recognised… we know we were pitted against the best,” says Aga.

No Reservations is now in its sixth season and its host Anthony Bourdain continues his culinary explorations and delivers authentic experiences from off-the-beaten-path locations.

The series that airs in over 50 countries has been nominated to the 61st Prime Time Emmy Awards in three categories,Outstanding Nonfiction Series,Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming and Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming. “I can’t tell you how happy and proud I am that No Reservations got three Prime Time Emmy Awards nominations,” says Bourdain.

“When we started it,we wanted to make it a travel/ food show to help the audience experience the culture and history of a country and not just its food,” says Aga.

Before joining Discovery Communications,Aga worked with GAPC Entertainment in London. Aga has been working with Travel Channel,USA,since 2005 and has conceptualised many shows but this one’s closest to her heart. “This show has taken me around the world and put me in all sorts of situations both physically and intellectually,but we emerged out of it to bring as many as six seasons to your drawing rooms.”

She has overseen production from Laos and Korea to Saudi Arabia and from Iceland to Columbia,but the Beirut episode was the most challenging. “An episode was interrupted when war broke out,and I led the team based in Washington DC that evacuated the crew from Lebanon. When we came back we had no episode and that week we had Bourdain talking of his experience in the city.”

Aga recalls another assignment. “The President of Ghana was so pleased with the show we made for them that we were invited as his guests to the Ghana’s independence celebrations and were taken on a tour in the presidential helicopter.”

The 38-year-old began her TV career with UTV in Mumbai,her hometown,and in 2008 returned to join What’s on India as co-founder and content head. “I had gained experience on a variety of shows and wanted to use it in Mumbai and that’s when I decided to return,” she states.

No Reservations had earned her an Emmy nomination for Best Documentary/News in 2007 as well. She hopes this time it is converted into a win and is waiting for September 20,when the winners will be announced.