Happy Birthday!
By Asha P.Nair
28th January 2009 01:05 AM
HER day begins at 3.45 a.m., hours before the city wakes up. And by the time the sun is up and shining, Anjali would have woken up half the city with her ‘kalakan’ voice. Almost a wake-up call for many.
Anjali Rajan, breakfast RJ at Club FM, has not missed her show, ‘kalakan recharge’, even once during the last one year. She sums up the whole of 365 days in one sentence when she says, ‘‘It’s been really lovely.’’
An animated Anjali during an interview is no different from the bubbly girl a listener visualises her during the show. The voice is fresh and alive, as usual.‘‘I have had cold and cough many times, but my listeners bear with me. After all, do we mind talking to friends with a cold? It’s the same here,’’she says.
In a job that requires cent percent active mind and body, how does she keep herself cool? ‘‘I reach office by 5a.m. and before my show starts at 7 a.m., I have lots of preparations to do. You can’t chat with listeners without having the stuff in you. I read the papers and see that the computers are ready to go on air without any technical flaws. And once on air, I talk naturally, otherwise you can’t connect with the listeners,’’she says.
And the golden moment? ‘‘When we visited a mental asylum as part of the show, a patient there greeted all of us, took a few steps and then returned to ask ‘Who among you is Anjali’. Well, a mentally unstable person memorising your voice and name in mind is the biggest response you can get,’’she smiles.
A native of Punalur, Anjali stays at Vanchiyur in the city. Though enrolled as a correspondence PG student of Public Relations and Management in Madurai Kamaraj University, RJing has left her with less time to brood over books.
So, not even bored once? ‘‘When you see things, you have a lot to tell people. Now I have a medium and I am enjoying it,’’Anjali bares her mind.
‘‘We are not those folks who just talk and make money. RJing is not that easy.’’ Vishnu, RJ at Radio Mirchi, is best with words. Exactly the way he is in his morning show ‘Hello Thiruvananthapuram.’
Like all other breakfast RJs, Vishnu has an early day. And a lot of preparations goes into making it a real day, he says. Like a little homework the previous day, a thorough reading of newspapers before the show, and of course presence of mind when on air.
‘‘But ultimately I talk of things that is top in my mind. But only keeping in mind, what and what not to say,’’Vishnu makes it clear.
As his show completes a year, Vishnu too has not missed even a single day in work. It’s been too good, is how he puts it. ‘‘Everyday has been a different experience, I got to learn new things. Almost like a kid going to new schools each day,’’he says.
A resident of Kowdiar, he says the pressure is a constant feature. But when the job is fun, there is no regret. ‘‘You can create so many pictures in the mind of the listener, which is real fun. Like the make-over we are planning to do as part of the first anniversary. Listeners would not have seen me, but when I say I have gone for a make-over, they would visualise me in thousands of ways. That’s the beauty of radio,’’Vishnu beams.
The only thing he had to part with ever since he left a job in Technopark to become RJ is his sleeping hours. ‘‘I was never an early riser. But since the last one year, I have been doing it regularly, which is too big a thing for me,’’he smiles.
So doesn’t he get bored, even for a single moment? ‘‘Do you get bored talking to friends?’’ pat comes his reply.
For the D-day, Vishnu and his Radio Mirchi team is out hunting for the hottest ‘thattukada’ in town. Now isn’t that interesting?
‘Kidilam Firoz’ is a known name by now for all FM freaks. The 105 hour long campaign against use of drugs, which this breakfast RJ at Big FM, ventured into last year is not the only reason. It’s got to do with the way he connects with his listeners too.
‘‘Knowing the pulse of the listeners is most important. Where I have been getting 500 sms’ in my sms portal, it has almost multiplied into five times now. Because more people has begun to connect with me,’’he says.
Well, there is no secret. Other than a little homework and lots of creativity, he says. He deals with a show that is more utility linked. So allthat is left to do is give the necessary information in a buttered and sweetened flavour.
A former anchor of a TV game show, he left the big screen to RJ in a small space. Why? ‘‘In TV, all you need to do is memorize your part and do it well. In radio, your creativity is sharpened. You need to think of ways to present a daily show in the most variety of ways, which is the real bait,’’Firoz says.
So, how has the year been? ‘‘It’s not like wearing the same uniform and going to school. It’s like wearing colourful costumes each day. It’s been fun,’’his sound matches his excitement.
And it’s sound that he most often plays with. ‘‘If you have a good sound, that doesn’t mean you are a good RJ. You must know to modulate your voice, so as not to be repetitive. I can sit in my studio, and give the effect of wandering in a forest or got caught in a traffic, which depends on how you use the sound effects. That is more important,’’Firoz says.
A native of Venjaramoodu, he stays at Murinjapalam with his wife. Suraj Venjaramoodu has been his guru in the field of television. So, any plans to go Suraj’s way? ‘‘I have lots to do in radio, if I am to find a place among the best RJs of India. Let me achieve something here, and then I will think of new avenues,’’he says.
And adds,‘‘It’s a happening time in radio,’’which sums it all.
anil.asha@gmail.com
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