Niret Alva

Niret Alva is an Indian television producer who is the co-founder and chairman of television production company Miditech.[1]

Niret Alva
OccupationCo-founder and chairman Miditech
Years active1988 – present
Parent(s)Margaret Alva

Miditech first made a documentary series on the environment, Living on the Edge for Doordarshan, and went on to make documentaries for the BBC, Discovery and National Geographic, before entering the entertainment genre around 2004,[1] with Indian Idol (2004–2009), Galli Galli Sim Sim (Sesame Street) (2006),[2] and Wheels (1998) (BBC World).[3][4]

Early life and education

Niret Alva was born in Bangalore – the first child of lawyers Niranjan and Margaret Alva. Alva has two brothers, Nikhil and Nivedith, and a sister, Manira, with whom he manages Miditech.[5][6] His name is a portmanteau, wherein the first two letters are from his father Niranjan, and the last three from his mother, Margaret Alva.[3] The family moved to Delhi in 1974 when his mother was elected to the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of India's parliament). She went on to serve as minister of state in Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao's governments. A prominent parliamentarian, she served four consecutive terms in the Rajya Sabha and one in the Lok Sabha.

Alva is a graduate in history from St. Stephen's College, Delhi, has a post graduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, and is a recipient of a certificate from the Radio Netherlands Training Centre in Hilversum (Holland) for a news and current affairs course in television. He earned a law degree (LLB) from Mumbai University.[7]

Career

Alva joined the Press Trust of India, television, as a trainee reporter/scriptwriter in January 1988. Beginning his career when television was still government-controlled in the late 1980s, he moved on to become a correspondent with Eyewitness, a monthly independent video news magazine, owned by Hindustan Times Television in 1990. He covered subjects such as Indian attitudes toward sex, caste violence, the dangers of the civilian use of the army and the capture of Rajiv Gandhi's assassin.

In 1992, he co-founded Miditech, a television software production company, along with his brother Nikhil. Miditech's program, Living on the Edge, won a Panda award at Wildscreen in Bristol in 1996.

Alva has scripted, directed and been associated with several international, award winning documentaries, including The Great Descent – a river rafting journey down the Brahmaputra after the massive flood of 2000, and Operation Hot Pursuit – an undercover documentary on the illegal ivory trade between India and Japan.[8]

Personal life

Alva is married to Indian author and advertising executive Anuja Chauhan, author of The Zoya Factor (2008). They first met in 1989, during the production of a play in Delhi. They were married in 1994.[9] They have three children, two girls and a boy.[10]

Filmography
Television
Title Year Role
Wheels (TV series)1998Host/Executive Producer
Indian Idol (Reality-singing competition)(2004–2009)Executive Producer
Galli Galli Sim Sim2006Executive Producer
Parrivaar (TV series)( 2007–2008)Executive Producer
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References
  1. Ojha, Abhilasha (29 September 2004). "Miditech moves on". Business Standard. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. Adesara, Hetal (14 November 2005). "'In terms of revenue, we are growing at just under 300% per year' : Niret Alva - Miditech president". Indian Television. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  3. Belgaumkar, Govnd (15 December 2003). "He's on TOP gear". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  4. Ojha, Abhilasha (19 April 2008). "Brothers in arms". Business Standard. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  5. Sujata Chakrabarti (4 June 2010). "Niret Alva is not 'content' yet!". DNA. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  6. "Indian idols, really". The Hindu. 6 January 2005.
  7. "The dream merchants". The Economic Times. 8 June 2007. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  8. Barooah Pisharoty, Sangeeta (22 December 2003). "And the winners are..." The Hindu. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  9. Nandini Narayanan (9 July 2009). "Love Story". India Today. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  10. Bagchi, Shrabonti (21 July 2012). "Three is the new two". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
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