Fitting into RJs shoes

There was a time when the first thing that people looked forward to in the morning was their radio. Everyone had their favourite voices, and hoped to meet them someday. It was best known as “behind the scene” profession where listeners had the liberty to conjure images of the one talking eloquently with a baritone.

The landscape began to change after privatisation of radio in early 2000s. The expansion worked in listeners’ favour and India saw a surge in private radio stations, making it one of the most lucrative career options after television, films and fashion.

And when Vidya Balan played a radio jockey in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, she gave this profession a much-deserved space on the big screen. Her ‘Good Morning Mumbai’ line filled up imaginative spaces of many radio lovers and showed the action inside the studio.

But over years, the business of radio jockeying has changed immensely. It is more than just having a “good” voice. It is about having right personality, good knowledge and be able to create one’s own identity in the growing sea of RJs.

“RJs are expected to have a lot more qualities. With social media exposure, it is the personality of the radio jockey along with the voice that is in front of you. So a RJ tries to make the voice his identity despite being visible in public, and that I think is a hurdle.” Sayema Rehman, who hosts Purani Jeans on Radio Mirchi, tells Metrolife.

However, the situation seems entirely different for an RJ working for All India Radio (AIR), which is the national public radio broadcaster.

“The language has become much more liberal now. While we always have to be politically correct, I have seen what is called in literal terms, ‘Bhasha ka vikas here,” says RJ Rajesh Kamboj, who hosts Saturday’s road shows on AIR FM Rainbow, adding “given limits of the organisation, much more can be said, as compared to the past.”

With similar views is Swaty Gupta, also an AIR RJ, she says, “The organisation is bigger than individuals. At AIR, the substance has always been more. With the growing competition, we have become much more commercial and have entered the ‘mass pleasing’ ideology.”

But working with private radio stations can be a bit stressing. “In AIR you have the luxury of not giving a hit show, but here, you are as good as your last stint on air. Someone who has spent six years being an RJ, can be questioned anytime about what name he has gained in the market,” says RJ Sayema.

“We become a special part of people’s life, people look forward to our shows every day, but being an RJ is difficult,” she adds.