Age: 93.5; relationship status: Single and all available – provided I am found; family: my mum who I consider my daughter; can be mostly located in: some bloody traffic jam or hanging outside the local train hoping to survive until the next station.
Well, that’s Red FM’s RAPA Award winner RJ Mantra, who is exactly the same in his day-to-day life as he is when on air. He believes that Bajaate Raho is the best tagline a radio station can ever get because it is all about freedom of expression and since he has been bajaaoing all through his life; he suits the Bajaate Raho credo the best. Radioandmusic.com’s Aaishwari Chouhan in candid conversation with RJ Mantra.
Excerpts:
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How did you kickstart your career in radio?
I was in the hospitality business before I came to radio. Very few know that I was the front desk receptionist and the youngest manager for a Taj group hotel once. I was also a theatre artiste and frankly, radio happened by fluke. I was supposed to give a wake-up call to some man at 6.30 am and I gave the kind of wake-up calls RJs give on radio stations. He got back to me and said that he was in the city to audition for radio jockeys and that he wanted me to come and audition. And that wake-up call changed my life.
How has your radio-career graph been?
I have been a part of the radio industry for the past eight years and have been to all metropolitan cities. I started off as an RJ with AIR. For me, radio is a local medium and by just being different one can make oneself heard and appreciated. I agree that having a local person who speaks the local language is quite essential for a radio station. But I have been a traveler myself. When I went to Delhi, it took me a little time to gel into Delhi’s style of talking, but once I learnt that; it was a fun experience. Thus, I would say that I am an exception to this ‘local’ philosophy. When I returned to Mumbai, I found people were quite surprised and happy because I could speak good Hindi. In fact, I really find it funny that Bollywood and television celebrities who earn their bread and butter from Hindi serials and films fail to speak in Hindi when giving an interview. For me, sticking to English all the time isn’t as cool as every Mumbaikar thinks.
How important are academics in dealing with one’s day-to-day professional life?
My education after school has all been through correspondence. I started working real early in life i.e. immediately after my tenth standard examinations. I believe that academics do help in dealing with one’s day-to-day professional life and now, I want to return to my school and college because I feel I have missed out so much. But one thing for sure is that the current education system needs to change. Students should be given the liberty to pick their subjects.
A Rapa award – did you ever expect it?
My very first target when I entered the radio industry was a Rapa award. Rapa is as big as SRK getting a Filmfare award for the Best Actor. I think I expected this award and I think I got this award at the right time when my career is in its prime phase. But for such awards, any time is a right time.
Today, how competent is the scenario at radio today?
Radio today is very young and nascent. It hasn’t even completed one decade. We are following the American radio pattern and format even in India. We need to build a format of our own. The in car-listenership of radio with the Americans is very high, no doubt! But with Indians it’s not the same. A shopkeeper starts his radio when he enters his shop in the morning and listens to it for eight long hours. So we just can’t have the 15 minutes entertaining spots. We need to have our own radio format. Also, today every radio station is so similar to the other that one can’t differentiate between the two unless and until it is announced that you are listening to a particular radio station. I believe radio should be identified by its sound.
What’s your opinion on RJs hopping stations every few years?
Poaching will always be there in every industry. It’s about how one can relate his talent to the radio station. But people tend to listen to you on a particular frequency and when they find you on some other station some day, they feel you have betrayed the radio station where you worked earlier. They tend to develop the idea that if this person can’t be loyal to a radio station, how can we trust him?
For me, it’s cool and fine to switch over to rival stations but loyalty should be maintained. Only when the jock’s career really needs an uplift and it’s not just about money alone should a person switch over from one station to the other.
What’s with the comedy show you are hosting for a television channel?
The channel is Bindass which is a complete youth channel. The chairperson told me that the kind of language the channel will speak is a complete youth lingo like the language spoken at the college canteen or the bus stop. This is the only reason why I took up this contract with Bindass.
And Anirudh?
Anirudh, he is my partner who is not the RJ from Big FM. He is a crazy guy, probably the craziest fellow I ever met. He is a Punjabi rapper from Delhi and an absolutely cool guy to work with.
Television, Bollywood or theatre?
If given a chance, I would like to do something for theatre. Theatre has given Bollywood so many artists but in Mumbai, theatre signifies poverty. I want to set-up something like Broadway here in India and make theatre a big medium. But this doesn’t mean I am not there for Bollywood. If anything good comes up, I will surely make myself available.
Is it important for the jock to look good along with having good talent to become a complete package?
I believe that until the RJ’s identity and face is hidden, you can make him role-play a child, a politician, comedian…anything. But the moment you reveal your RJ’s face, what next? Radio is a blind man’s television but of late, a lot of radio stations are making their RJs known to the public.
What’s your day-job scene like?
These days I have a very tough schedule. I give the first half of my day to Lagegi and then the second half to radio. I can’t get quality time to spend with my mom. Also, I am a die hard cricket fan and I am missing that.
What’s the one change you wish for the radio industry?
Radio professionals should think from under their own hats. In the radio industry nothing is certain; there is no rule or format as such. The format we are following presently is the American format and is it the Americans who have laid the rules and formats for the Indian audience too? Somebody needs to innovate radio as a medium in India!
