Charul, is one of the three children to the Maliks. Her father G.S Malik , a lawyer by profession, and mother Asha a professor. Charul is the twin sister of Parul and they have a brother Gaurav. Born on 23rd April, in Chandigarh she completed her XII in arts and then completed her BA (Hons) with LLB – an integrated course. Since her father was in the legal profession, he advised her too to join Law.
Dreams come alive!
For some reason, anchoring and news anchoring, in particular, attracted her as a kid. At the age of seven, she would notice the news anchors on Doordarshan and get inspired.
She would make a box that looked like a TV and sat in between the box in which she carved out a neat window that resembled a TV screen. She would jot down snippets of the news when it was being read and replicate the same in her own way from her own TV station inside the cardboard box. Creative and ingenuity at its best!
Motivation at home
The motivation of her mother inspired her to get into this field.
Her mother, a Hindi professor, her maternal grandfather Mr. Dharamvir Vashishtha an IAS who then became an MLA and MP were known for their great oratory skills and that was the true inspiration for Charul as she was growing up. Powerful and talented women like Salma Sultan and Nalini Singh were her role models.
Work flows!
At the age of 14, she got her first work for the ” Yuva ” Program at All India Radio – Chandigarh. The Program was related to kids and hence the need for a really young anchor. Charul was chosen and it tremendously spiked her confidence.
She earned her first cheque of Rs. 450. Two years later she joined City News and was paid Rs. 350. Jain TV had an opening but the minimum qualification was a graduate. She started her studies and did five years of law. Whilst working she also worked with Jain TV. Subsequently, she joined Sahara Samay, Star News ( Now ABP News) , Aajtak, and presently is associated with India TV.
Charul would put in around twelve hours of work daily. After a few months of work with Jain TV, she got the opportunity to host a show named “Morning India” With at Sahara Channel. She got the chance to have conversations and interviews with many in various fields like sports, entertainment, politics, social services, and renowned names in many fields. Learning from every show she added to her knowledge kitty and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Later on, she joined star news and got very a good exposure bandwidth there. She did “Pehli Khabar “, ” Star Savera” , and “Waah cricket“. Charul handled the morning shows and brought her own brand of freshness and energy to the show.
Awards & Accolades
Awards and accolades to recognize her good work flowed. Charul was nominated for the Best Anchor award by Asian Viewers Television Awards (AVTA). She was one of the top three anchors.
Awards she took home were her motivations as is for most of us. It gives you validity in a sense, for the path you have chosen. Charul has won some prestigious viz: MY CITY award for the Best Entertainment News Anchor for the year 2014/15, The News Television Award 2014-2015 for the Best News Anchor Entertainment, the only anchor who has conducted an interview live on skates and has been featured in the LIMCA book of records and the International Iconic Award for the Best Entertainment Anchor more recently in 2020. Charul also won prestigious Dada Shaheb Phalke Award for Best Entertainment News Anchor.
There is a very interesting story behind the Limca World Record holder award –
Charul was supposed to interview Niel Nitin Mukesh and Deepika Padukone for the film the Lafange Parindey promotion. In that film, Deepika was playing the role of Skating instructor and the channel was wanting to do something different. Though Deepika declined to interview skates, Charul gave it a shot as she had done a little bit of skating as a kid. Charul interviewed Deepika and Neil on skates. It was an hour-long interview and with that got listed in the Limca book of world record.
Movement is part of life
It was time to move and shift to a new city. Charul shifted to Mumbai in the year 2013. It was not just a change of cities but a change in work format as well. Charul was new into the entertainment world. She is with India TV and is now handling the entire show in production, content curation, editing, anchoring, scripting, and execution. She is the executive editor, and she decides what will be included in the channel, she also writes promos for the channel. In the last two years, she is writing scripts for anchoring shows. She is writing Saaa Bahu aur suspense for five years. Charul is also into writing poems.
Anchoring is her first love. She did a cameo for “Bhabhi jeeghar par hain” where she played two roles, that of a young girl and old aged women. She got one more role offer was unable to do it for reasons of issues with the channel. Stage and theater were not new to her because she had done a fair bit of it in her childhood.
Professional challenges
Journalist, media and the entertainment industry have long work hours hence a challenge to sustain smoothly. Family life is disturbed and so are special occasions, festivals, outings, and get-togethers. There are no fixed timings to sign off. A strong mindset is important and however much disturbed you are from the inside, as soon as the camera goes on the smile has to come on too. No mood swings are permitted in this space. On one such shoot, she got the sad news of her mother’s critical condition.
Success mantra
Charul believes that even the most ordinary thing done with extraordinary effort creates magic. Enthusiasm, confidence, energy levels ought to be 200% always. Responsible, disciplined, and not comparing one with others are a few virtues that will take you a long way. Be presentable at all times. Use your best virtues as your USP. Charul believes her smile is the best part of her personality.
In the media space, the spectrum is wide. There are specialty roles like anchoring, editing, graphic, legal and many subsidiaries which gives a huge option for those interested. Follow your passion and not jump into a role because someone else did it. You have to decide for yourself.
Charul followed her dreams and with the support of her family, hard work and dedication, she enjoys her work. Love your work and it will love you back!
Plan for the future
An enterprising individual like Charul, wants to someday start her own channel. A news channel, digital channel, entertainment, or a wonderful mix of all and one that she can manage 24X7. Using advanced technology and digital media she will ensure it is a unique offering to her viewers and fans.
Support is the key
Her mother is her role model, her sister Parul used to be with her in her initial days of the journey was a big help. Parul used to help her in makeup, scripting, etc. Her brother Gaurav is always around supporting her. Her dad too stands by her and her dreams, though she misses her mother, however, she knows that her warmth and blessing are always around now and forever.
