Now a successful freelance Talent Manager, Jasbir Saund used to be involved in the production TV programs like The Voice, The Voice Kids, Pride of Britain and some documentaries for BBC and Channel 5.
Saund started her career as a researcher in the BBC then switched to ITV. Later on, while working in Princess Productions and Breakthrough Media she became more closely involved in the process of making documentary films, current affairs and art programmes.
Background.
Saund was born in Nairobi, Kenya. Her father was in the Civil Service. Her mother was a housewife. Later on her family moved to India and so Jasbir would remember the country where she was raised and where she spent her childhood. Saund’s family lived in a small village in Punjab and accordingly, her early memories are also from there. That small village seemed to Jasbir much bigger when she was a child however it was actually a very small place.
When she thinks of her childhood, Jasbir remembers carelessly running around free and wandering around on her little scooter. She was looked after very well and grew up in the warm atmosphere of love and commitment. She recalls: “I had a very close family”. What else can a small child dream of?
Coming into media.
There was no specific event in Saund’s childhood that attracted her to the media. When she was at school Jasbir was naturally interested in the world that surrounded her. She wanted to find out more about it and the people that inhabit it. So she decided that the best job that would suit her would be one of a journalist.
She says: “The thing about being a journalist is that you want to ask questions and you want to find out about something.”
Turning point of her career.
Jasbir believes that a turning point in her life and career was when she finally joined the BBC after working for a year in a library. At that time, graduates could apply for jobs through the Guardian and Saund decided to not miss her chance. She sent her CV to the British national daily newspaper. The criterion was that she had to work for a year in a library, before she could apply for production.
For a young and ambitious girl who dreamt of a career as a journalist, working in a library could seem a tedious task. But Jasbir knew what she wanted and she was ready to pay for her dream. So after spending a year in a library, Saund get her place as a researcher at Radio 2 at the BBC with Anne Robinson and Michael Parkinson.
The year at library later paid off, as now Saund says that: “It was two of the best jobs I’ve ever had…meeting A list Hollywood stars, where meeting Jack Lemmon counts as one of the highlights of my life, alongside writers, actors, musicians, politicians.”
The work on radio satisfied Saund and she decided to continue with it when she moved from Radio 2 to Woman’s Hour on BBC Radio 4. As a young person making her first steps in media career, Jasbir was lucky enough to be surrounded by talented people. She describes Jenni Murray, who she worked with on Radio 4 as “a brilliant journalist, nurturing and warming person.”
Never stop learning.
Radio was followed by film production on TV, where Saund worked on documentaries including Who Do You Think You Are?, The Genius of Omar Khayyam, The Age of Enlightenment. Gurinder Gurinder Chadha and Nitin Ganatra were films that she worked on while travelling across India and Kenya.
When she thinks of her career in film production, Saund evaluates it as a huge success: “My broadcast career has been hugely rewarding and a privilege. Exploring a wealth of subjects in detail, meeting people from all walks of life, attending first nights, screenings, openings, filming all over the world, working with incredibly talented and intelligent people”.
The biggest challenge.
At some point Jasbir felt that she wanted a change in her life and decided try a different role, career wise. Leaving film production was a hard decision, but she figured she could stay in a career environment using some of the skills and knowledge she already had. At that point talent managing became her job.
Nowadays, Saund is a freelance Talent Manager and has finally found her place in a media sphere as she finds her job “equally rewarding, challenging and hugely enjoyable”.
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The thing about being a journalist is that you want to ask questions and you want to find out about something.
