MUMBAI: We love television and how. Everything that TV characters do leaves an impact on the audiences, and we often practice the trends that are set by celebrities.

Harman’s swag in Shakti, Zoya’s innocence in Bepannah, and Kullfi’s cuteness in Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala—audiences go gaga about their favourite characters and actors by appreciating their hard work and performances on-screen.

We often ignore a series of people who endlessly work behind the lens to make these characters and their shows popular. In order to facilitate these unsung heroes, IndianTelevision.com is coming up with the 15th edition of our annual Indian Telly Technical Trade and Programming Awards, which recognize the best in television production, editing, writing, direction, distribution, and creation.

An actor’s performance is determined by the inputs of the director. It is the director who gives the actor’s talent direction. TellyChakkar got in touch with one of the budding talents in the television field in direction, Yusuf Ansari.

Yusuf started his career as a costume attendant and was later discovered by Nandu Kaale and Satyam Tripathi, who recognized his talent and pushed him towards direction. Recalling his struggling days, Yusuf shared, ‘Initially, it was pretty difficult as I worked without any compensation for about 10 months and was also left unemployed for a couple of months.’

Yusuf considers his late director friend and mentor Waseem Sabeer his godfather: ‘I directed my first shot under Waseem Sir. I progressed to becoming a chief assistant director with time and I started to work with Waseem Sir as an associate. Later, he gave me my first break as a director in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 2. I will be forever thankful to him, not just for considering my talents but also giving me life lessons.’

Talking about his job as a director, he said, ‘It’s quite a task, because as a director, you have to meet the creative and productions’ expectations in a short span of time. You have to even meet deadlines with a quality product.’

Expanding more on his role as a director, he added, ‘I try to be calm and composed in difficult and challenging sequences and try to give my 100% to every scene I shoot.’

Keep up the good work, Yusuf!