On air, they play

Manpriya Singh 

The friendly banter, the non-stop chatter goes on…tune in and there’s not a moment’s pause. Of course they play the songs, take requests, listen to callers and say blah-blah that makes you smile …always heard them on air? Wondered how they look? Now get to know your city-based RJs a little better. 

Kadak launde  

Lakha & Rishi

Talk of wit, sarcasm, humour…Lakha won’t spare anyone? We mean anyone. As loud as he is, Rishi falls completely at the other end of the spectrum. Together the two of them are Chandigarh ke kadak launde. As mismatched as it gets — one from the Punjabi heartland and other from the Hindi belt. “Launde is a very cool word used for boys in Delhi, but once I came here I came to know of very many such cool words in Punjabi,” Rishi, already a jockey with Delhi shares about his six-month experience in Chandigarh. So what Punjabi words has Lakha managed to teach him? “Kiddan, dasso and, of course, ghaint.” He adds, “He is very loud and speaks very fast and I am very quiet; not just on the show, but by nature. Due to our very different accents, language and personalities, the creative team of Red FM thought of putting us together.” 

Given the chalk and cheese nature, do they ever fight? “Yes we do but the fight hardly lasts 10 minutes.” Just the two of them are enough for listeners to tune in. “There is no script that we follow. We are not comedians, our job is to talk to people in an engaging and causal manner and give news, share a song, take requests…” Which they do, in fact much more than that! 

100 per cent

RJ Shatabdi 

Ask RJ Shatabdi about her real name and not the radio name, and that’s a perfect way to ensure the ice never breaks! “Of course, RJ Shatabdi is my real name and very much my real name.” Welcome RJ Shatabdi Bhatnagar, born and brought up in Delhi and the drama queen of Red FM. 

Before we ask whether the non-stop talking comes naturally, her unusual name merits a story. “My father is reading a newspaper article of an Indian cricketer hitting a century. Suddenly at the thought of century, the word Shatabdi clicks and I am named after the word that actually means a 100 hundred years, with the spirit that I live that long and whosoever meets me remembers me for at least a 100 years.” 

Always wanting to be an RJ, she, “always followed the jocks, mimicked them, idolized them,” she is truly living her dream. Save for one thing, “Whenever I am at a party, at a wedding, at any get together, my friends literally flaunt me and then the moment they know I am an RJ, I get random requests like, acha bolke dikhao. She questions, “How can I bolke dikhao? There are no written lines. “We prepare the outline; there is no script.”  

Dil se…

RJ Dhanveer 

An MA in Urdu can hardly be a strong foundation for being a radio jockey.  “I have done journalism as well but accident, crime, breaking news was just not my thing,” shares RJ Dhanveer Singh, who takes his listeners out on a Filmi Gedi at Big FM. To be constantly talking nonsense, while still making sense, “is of course a difficult thing. You can’t just go blank on air,” shares the Patiale da munda, who finds callers sharing their most personal problems sometimes a little awkward. “You have to be patient, listen and try to help.” And what you hear on air is what he truly is. “How am I talking to you? This is how I am on air as well.” But yes, “when people see me they are surprised. After listening to my show, they picture me as a six-and-a-half feet sardar.” Which he is not! There would be a script, a few rehearsed lines...“The callers can’t be scripted. You have to be spontaneous eventually.” 

Good morning, Chandigarh RJ Abhi

And he wakes up the Tricity, “with a hearty good morning.” The guy who each morning yells out Watsup Chandigarh on Radio Mirchi is RJ Abhi.   “It’s the most stressed out time of the day and my endeavour is to put a smile on to their faces. I feel through my job, I can actually help a lot of people feel better by taking the stress away; making them feel good even before their day has begun ,” shares the boy, born and brought up in the city itself. A product of St. John’s and DAV College, RJ Abhi has ironically never been a morning person. “As a musician, I used to sleep at six in the morning earlier and now I reach the office by 6.30 am.” Well, enough to prepare for the nine-o-clock show. “You prepare, do your research but I go completely live.” There are no qualms even if the joke is on himself. “In fact, even hate calls don’t bother me because I don’t take myself seriously.” 

Big memsaab

RJ Anshu Bhatia

If you’ve wondered who’s the Big memsaab, hosting every afternoon show on Big Fm, that’s RJ Anshu Bhatia for you. “There was a time when I wouldn’t go live or edit out things like a sneeze. Now I feel it’s more important to connect with people than be flawless. Can’t an RJ sneeze while hosting the show? Now I share all these things with my listeners. We want to be real. As for the research for the show, we keep in mind the general mood. For instance, recently we had riots in the city, we couldn’t be peppy,” shares the RJ, born and brought up in Delhi, who took to her profession courtesy power-cuts in the capital!

She too doesn’t like the curious requests during weddings or evening parties. “People always say bolke dikhao.” Well, which they do non-stop. Just tune in! 

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