The late, great Gen. Colin L. Powell. was once quoted as saying, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” These words ring true for Esha Bargate, who set her sights on a career in media at a young age. A hard-working girl since childhood, Esha was born and raised in Chhattisgarh, a state located in central India. After obtaining an MBA in Media Management, Esha began a career as a sales executive in print media in the state’s capital city of Raipur.
In 2015 at the age of 27, Esha moved to the USA, St. Louis, Missouri where she earned a second Master’s in Mass Communications from Webster University. While in St. Louis she launched her independent health and lifestyle show via FOX2 KTVI called Health Mantra with Esha. In pursuit of better opportunities, Esha relocated to San Francisco where she currently resides. In a brief Q&A, we chat with Esha about her show, career challenges and giving back.
Bronze Magazine: How did your school and work experience prepare you for your current career in journalism?
Esha Bargate: My school and work experience give me a realistic way to think out of the box. That is why today I’m a one person show with pre/post-production. I always search for unique stories around my setting and environment.
BM: How did you land your show Health Mantra with Esha? What is your show’s focus? How did you gain marketing and production support for the show?
EB: This is an exciting story. After graduating in 2020, I applied to many places for a job, but unfortunately, I didn’t land any producing jobs. When COVID started, the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle became apparent and that’s where I got the inspiration to launch a show related to health. I knew scriptwriting, camera operation, and other aspects of production. I launched my show on the FOX2 KTVI for the St. Louis market. I learned from my journey that If I understood the process of marketing, production, camera, etc., why would I wait for a job? So that is why I launched my independent show.
The show “Health Mantra with Esha” focused on health issues, and I covered the most prominent nontraditional medical practices like Yoga, Ayurveda, prenatal yoga, etc. I think nontraditional medical methods are famous nowadays to treat mental illness, to ease pregnancy, etc.
In my home country India, I worked as a Media Executive for sales/marketing for print and electronic media, so I learned the marketing process in media houses and used my social media pages to approach audiences and sponsors. I used a Facebook advertisement tool to promote my social media page.
Most of the production is done by me but in the last episodes, I had help with video editing because it is a time-consuming and frustrating process in post-production.
BM: Is there anything you can share with us about your upcoming shows?
EB: Yes, there is a project at a very preliminary stage. Hopefully, I will be able to showcase it very soon.
BM: Tell us about your talent agency work.
EB: A few months back, I signed a contract with a talent agency as commercial talent in San Francisco. I had work experience as commercial talent for an advertisement for Hier Films. I enrolled as commercial talent for Now Talent Management in St.Louis. And in India, I did some theater projects in my hometown and acted in crime shows for television.
BM: Talk about your volunteering and internship at STL TV, HECTV, and the United Nations. How has giving back shaped you as a person?
EB: I started my internships in 2016 with different organizations. These internships were mainly based on pre/ post-production, writing, producing, and hosting. I learned lots of the details of production from STL TV and HECTV in St. Louis. I hosted and wrote for the STLTV show “Takin into the Street” under the internship project. For HECTV, I was mostly involved with pre/post productions. I was also fortunate to work as a volunteer under the United Nations Online Volunteering program, and I received three work appreciation certifications. I traveled to the United Nations Headquarters in New York to attend the conference on Tuberculosis on June 4, 2018.
These experiences shaped my personality as an independent producer who doesn’t need a team to launch a show on a big platform. Because I did production, scripting, writing, camera operation and everything essential for pre/ post-pro duction by myself. That is the most fundamental point that has shaped me.
BM: What challenges have you faced up to this point, and how do you plan to overcome them?
EB: I faced many challenges as an immigrant to set up my career in media. The first barrier I faced was language, American accent, and technical skills required for Film/Television production. I slowly learned all these skills to set up my career in this field. By nature, I am very competitive and ambitious. I came from a middle family in India, and I started to work at an early age. Because of that, I always use practical and logical methods to overcome my challenges.
