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Radio's creative notes

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Priyanka Joshi New Delhi
Last Updated : Jun 14 2013 | 5:32 PM IST
tunes into the current crop of radio channels and finds that innovative programming is helping to provide a much-needed break from all that song and talk.
 
When Bijli goes missing, her mother Transformaa, her father Babuji Presswalla and her lover Khamba Singh hunt for her on Delhi's streets. While Transformaa laments Bijli's lack of interest in helping her run the vacuum cleaner, her lover cribs about not being able to see the World Cup finals because Bijli has gone into hiding. Meanwhile the other woman, Mombatti Rani, is making merry in Bijli's absence.
 
No, this is not a scene from any forthcoming Govinda film but an excerpt from Bijli Ki Khoj "" a radio film by Radio Mirchi which talks about Delhi's electricity crisis and raises its voice with the concerned authorities on behalf of the masses.
 
Sounds innovative? By all means. Satire and comedy have always been a perfect backdrop to deliver public service messages and raise public interest issues, but the domestic radio industry has just begun to adopt the theme into its programming mix.
 
For all the hullabaloo radio is generating, it all began not so long ago with the second phase of FM radio privatisation, which gave multiple radio channels to metros and the B & C cities.
 
According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, the radio industry that stood at Rs 2,400 million in 2004, is expected to grow to Rs 12,000 million by 2010, marking an unprecedented growth of 32 per cent CAGR, while the entire media and entertainment industry is expected to grow at just 19 per cent CAGR.
 
Being aware that music is the only content available among most operators, bringing a differentiation in content is a mammoth task.
 
Riya Mukherjee, vice president and regional head (programming, north and west), Radio Mirchi, credits radio jockeys and programming heads with infusing creativity. She says, "Radio Mirchi is proud of radio films "" even if the term sounds quirky."
 
Bijli Ki Khoj was the second radio film that was scripted by Mirchi's radio jockey Anu, the first one being Kuch Kuch Sunta Hai that was a satirical spoof on films being shot on heritage locations, thereby spoiling the monument.
 
Radio Mirchi also gained an entry into the Limca Book of Records with its radio film, Kuch Kuch Sunta Hai.
 
"The idea was to highlight the apathy of officials in protecting our heritage sites. The two-hour film was shot on-ground, with live audience participation, and it was a hit," claims Mukherjee.
 
The cost of making such a film is negligible. The second time around, for Bijli Ki Khoj, there was a bound script and live audience bytes "" including Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit's "" woven into the script by the radio jockey (who doubled up as narrator).
 
"Satire being applied against government officials, judiciary issues, or to highlight a defect in the system have been a hit in the entertainment industry the world over," observes Tapas Sen, national head (programming), Radio Mirchi. He adds, "The same concept is now being applied to the radio industry and it has taken off well."
 
One minute spoofs on Bollywood films have been a favourite with Red FM. Called Majama Movies, these radio films have a Gujarati narration, informs, Abraham Thomas, COO of Red FM.
 
The station will soon host Bajate Raho Awards too. Another hit for the channel was when popular RJ Nitin took to the streets in his radio taxi and recorded his interactions with the masses. Meanwhile, Radio City is planning to showcase recorded theatrical shows on one of its time slots.
 
Musical-e-Azam is yet another example of creative radio programming on Radio City. The show has been hosted by singers like Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar Mahadevan, who in turn quiz big names in the music industry.
 
This December, singer and Radio City's guest RJ, Shankar Mahadevan is all set to learn the tabla from maestro Zakir Hussain and share with him his experiences.
 
Ghulam Ali will be sharing his knowledge on ghazals, Sonu Niigaam will talk on singing vs RJ-ing, and Shaan will prattle too. Since a majority of these celebs are comfortable talking about their lives with people from their own fraternity, listeners are in for a treat. When Chauhan donned the RJ hat, her colleague, singer Kunal Ganjawala, divulged the secrets of his career to her.
 
Well-known singer Sukhwinder also became emotional in the course of his interview with her. Chauhan, as a radio jockey, managed to unearth a whole bunch of facts, gossip, live and unplugged performances from her guests, providing a completely different experience to her listeners.
 
Rana Barua, head marketing, Radio City, says, "Programmes like Musical-e-Azam, Babbar Sher and Shaam-e-Ghazal perk up the routine line-up while also adding a dash of fun."
 
As digital forms of radio proliferate (car, Internet and mobile radio), listeners are demanding newer programming; a reason why most channels are creating newer initiatives.
 
However, no player has mastered a particular model to attract ad revenues so far. "The industry," says Mukherjee, "is challenged, and needs to prove its finesse." The biggest fear for old and new radio channels is that even as audio programming grows, the aural experiments can overlap.
 
"In a scenario where there are as many as seven-eight FM channels in metros like Delhi and Mumbai, the need of the hour is to go local in terms of content delivery style," emphasises Sen of Radio Mirchi.
 
"Localisation is the buzzword. The listeners have to feel a connect with the content, thus the onus of creating and nurturing city-specific flavour rests on the programmes heads," he adds.
 
In Mumbai, Radio Mirchi got people to pledge to give up smoking on the occasion of No Smoking Day.
 
The programme then kept track of some smokers (who had been a part of the show) for 20 days and continued giving audiences updates on whether they actually gave up smoking or not.
 
A dose of reality on radio? This, promise radio players, is just the beginning.

 

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First Published: Dec 23 2006 | 12:00 AM IST

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