, 40, wants to make the most of Prasar Bharati's decision to set FM free by inviting bids for 338 channels across the country. For a modestly educated boy from Nalanda in Bihar who set foot in Delhi in 1992 armed with just a degree in journalism from Bhopal University, this has been quite a journey. He is now a globe trotting consultant, providing turnkey solutions to big media houses trying to set up TV and radio channels in India. "I always dreamt big," he says, without feigning any modesty, "Even as an intern in Hindustan I knew that I would reach the top rung of the ladder very quickly." He sure did. In 1996, he was not just anchoring the show Good Morning Today but also producing it. "That remains the biggest moment of my life. For the first time my father felt proud of me and didn't mind that I didn't become a civil servant," confides Salil.
There has certainly been no looking back since then"" launching Subah Aaj Tak in 1998, becoming the associate executive producer of the channel Aaj Tak, and the joint CEO of Falak (India's first Urdu channel which eventually didn't take off).
His current consultation venture is called Media Guru, which he set up in 2003 along with his colleague Qamar Waheed Naqvi (now director, news, Aaj Tak). Salil's consultancy provides media houses with complete business plans, research and the execution modules to launch or revamp TV channels and programmes.
He came up with Red Alert for BAG Films, launched Channel 7 for the Jagran group, and now has plenty of other projects. Among the most exciting: Salil claims to be setting up an infotainment TV Channel for Sentinel, a leading media house in North-East India, another one for Malayala Manorama.
Also, he claims to be working on several TV Stations aimed at audiences in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. But this also means vanishing to the Himalayas now and then.
