I still can't believe it. It's been 10 years since I joined MouthShut! I won't say it feels like yesterday but it really like just few years ago that I joined this website. I had seen it's colourful logo at the back of the autorickshaws. And I logged on to the website, not expecting it to be a review website. But I was excited as it seemed easy to navigate and writing is something I always loved. Also, as of 2005, there were hardly any websites that allowed consumers like us to speak our mind.
As expected, the few reviews didn't quite make a mark but soon, I started getting recognized and getting lots and lots of comments and views, which used to give me a high then! Another high was getting the star writer status in the beginning of 2006. It was a feat for me! But the best part about the website is that I made some great friends and our friendship is still going strong! It all started in 2009 when I attended my first MS Meet wherein I met Harry(khulamunh), Ketan Doshi(kdrocks) and Dev(aaryesdee) at Radio Club, Mumbai. It was a great meet and very soon, I became a regular at all meets that happened in Mumbai and Pune. And these meets used to be great fun and I really miss those days a lot! The meets don't happen anymore but it's good to see few of them have remained in touch and are one of my closest friends.
I joined MouthShut at a time when diary posts were non-existent. Once the feature was introduced, I decided to use it to fulfill my wish of writing about films every week. Thus was born Fenil's Bollywood Talk. The idea was to post the article every Thursday wherein I’ll post my views about the film that releases the next day. It was started in June 2008 and it's a pleasure to announce that in these 6 ½ years, not a single week has passed when the talk wasn't posted! I have posted 352 articles under Fenil's Bollywood Talk every week and though it's not getting the same kind of response as before, it's something that I love and passionate about and will continue to do so for a long, long time!
Another exciting part about the website is the numerous contests that keep happening at regular intervals. I still remember the first prize I worn was a voucher of INOX in October 2005, which I used to see the animated film Hanuman! Off late, I have been receiving cash prizes for every ROD and it's a great initiative without doubt.
Many MSians were of the opinion that they lost interest in the website after a while and that the same will happen with me as well. But I am happy to have proved them wrong. It’s been 10 years and I have posted 505 reviews and 447 blogs till date and I haven’t got bored for sure! This reminds me – am I the ‘oldest-as well-as-most-active’ member of the website?! MS team, please let me know!
To conclude, MouthShut has played a great role in shaping my life. My language improved thanks to MouthShut. I made so many friends from different cities thanks to MouthShut. I even got my job in a way thanks to MouthShut! Thank you so much Faisal Farooqui, Saif Hasan and the entire team! Keep rocking and I promise to keep writing for this great website.
P.S.: Since more than a year, I have not been able to reply to comments on my reviews/posts because my work schedules. Sincere apologies guys. One day I hope to reply to all the comments because it's something I feel is important. Let's hope that day comes soon!
