Faye D’Souza is a name that needs no introduction. She rose to prominence in 2017 while hosting a popular news debate show, The Urban Debate. She has since then, been known for shutting down BS with brutally blunt replies. But how did she become a respected and loved face of Indian journalism? Scroll on to read about her inspiring journey.
Who is Faye D’Souza and how did she rise to fame?
The popular news anchor rose to fame when she shut down a sexist Maulana in 2017 during a debate on sexism and women constantly being judged for what they wear. During the discussion, one of the panellists, a Maulana, in an attempt to rile her up, asked her: Why didn’t she show up to her workplace in her underwear? Then surely, she would find the equality between men and women that she spoke of. One might have expected her to be taken aback by that insensitive remark, but Faye was having none of it. Her response to him became one of the most iconic confrontations in broadcast journalism in India. Maintaining a calm exterior, Faye said, “He hopes that he will rile me up. He hopes that I will throw a fit and I will lose control of my panel and forget how to do my job. Let me tell you Maulanaji, I have seen many like you. I am not afraid of you, I am not threatened by you, I am not rattled by you.”
What is her educational background?
The 37-year-old journalist is now the executive editor at Mirror Now, a prominent news channel that is owned by The Times Network. Faye was born in Chikkamagaluru, a hill station in Karnataka, but grew up in Bengaluru. She studied Journalism and English Literature at Mount Carmel College and later studied Mass Communication at Commits (Convergence Institute of Media, Management and Information Technology Studies), Bengaluru.
Her Career Trajectory
Faye had her first foray into journalism while she was still a student at All India Radio. She bagged her first job as a journalist at CNBC TV 18 in 2003 and later moved on to reporting about mutual funds, insurance and personal finance. She ran three weekly shows on ET Now – Investor’s Guide, All About Stocks and The Property Guide. In April 2017, Faye became the face of the newly-launched Mirror Now. According to her, The Urban Decade was launched to “shine an uncomfortable spotlight on apathy, inefficiency and corruption which is the root cause of most problems that we face as Indians today.” In 2018, she was awarded the RedInk Award for ‘Journalist of the Year’.
5 Times Faye Was Badass AF
What makes Faye so refreshing as a news anchor is her no-BS policy, and how she shuts down trolls on her show with the most savage replies. Let’s take you back to a few of those moments:
1. When she took on a sexist religious fanatic, aka the video that went viral and made her one of the most recognised faces on the news.
2. When she questioned lawmakers’ decision to tax sanitary products, reminding them that they are not ‘luxury products’ and it’s not ‘icky’ to talk about them!
3. When she reminded politicians that there are a MILLION other things that they need to prioritise for the citizens instead of ‘mandir banana hai’.
4. When she LITERALLY asked Karni Sena leader Ajit Singh “Who the fuck are you?” after they threatened Deepika Padukone and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
5. When she shut down a member of the Sanathan Sanstha when they tried to bring a religious angle into the Asaram Bapu rape verdict.
Let’s hope Faye continues to ask the hard questions that need to be answered. She’s truly the fearless news anchor that India badly needed.
Featured image: Instagram
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