This is an extremely special moment for me as this is my first connect with each of you. The moment assums even morte special significance as this first post of mine is to share with you all my pride and joy of hosting South India's first radio reality show. What follows below is truly what happened to me on the morning of Friday the June 15th 2007 - and what exactly i shared on-air with the reast of Chennai.
Has Deepavali made a premature appearance about four or five months in advance? Why are schools, colleges and offices wearing a near-empty look? What’s the reason for the ever-stifling roads to be choking worse than ever before?
Hysteria? Mayhem? Bedlam? Mania? Chennai woke up on the morning of Friday the 15th June to witness a completely alien experience. The initiated Chennaites were sharing emotions of excitement while the rest were sulking out of jealousy. The uninitiated were clueless grappling to piece the jigsaw together.
Let me put an end to this intrigue and get to the point. It’s time to the raise the curtain on the biggest thing that has ever happened to an Indian film. ‘Sivaji’ – a film that has been almost the daily staple diet of Tamilians for the last two years, since the day the project was announced publicly, opened in a record number eighteen theatres in Chennai, not to mention hundreds and hundreds of theatres in Tamil Nadu and other states, and now hold your breath, in cinema halls in America, Japan and China. In less than two hours after the bookings opened, tickets across all cinema halls were completely sold out. Not surprisingly, considering ‘Sivaji’ – the edifice stood tall on the strength of four pillars viz.AVM – one of India’s oldest and most respected production houses; Shankar – amongst the country’s most sought-after and successful director; AR Rahman – introducing him to even non-Tamilians would be an act of grave injustice and last but not least, Super Star Rajnikanth.
Isn’t the picture getting a little clearer as to why 15th June in calendars turned red suddenly? Now do you understand why the morning of Wednesday the 15th of June broke the daily routine of many lives in Chennai, if not even elsewhere. I could not escape the contagion myself. For two reasons – one is being a true Rajni fan, and the other being the host of the Chennai’s most popular breakfast show.
The race to optimize the opportunity ‘Sivaji’ provided gathered momentum amongst a lot of brands, and the fiercest battle was witnessed amongst media brands. While Tamil Television Channels chased eyeballs with just trailers of the film, FM Radio Stations filled the airwaves with songs from the film, and trivia about the film. A few went further by offering free tickets for the film or reporting from different cinema halls sharing their personal experience and the experience of the fans.
We at Hello FM 106.4, in keeping with our tradition of ‘raise-the-bar’, did all of the above in adequate measure, and pulled of a radical coup. Chennai, if not India, experienced its first ‘Reality Radio Show’.
I, for one, am not a very regular filmgoer. So when my shrieking mobile phone refused to shut up in the wee hours of Friday the 15th June, I grudgingly woke up to hear my good friend invite me to join her and a few of our common friends for a first-day, first-show of ‘Sivaji’ at 10 am.
My immediate response was a vehement NO. Reasons were aplenty. One, my cardinal commitment, every morning is to engage Chennai listeners with my breakfast show – an enjoyable engagement I would not miss for anything. Secondly, the trembling fear of confronting a never-before experience of watching a first-day, first show of Superstar Rajnikanth. While these thoughts were clouding my head, my heart was also yearning for a chance to actually devour the exhilaration. So, with almost no hope that my team in the office would even remotely concede to my request for absence, I yet expressed my desire.
No wonder, Hello FM 106.4, is rapidly becoming Chennai’s most preferred FM Radio Station for its radical innovations and pioneering path-breakers. Simply because, even then, not only was my request granted, in less than the time that I took to reach office, over a few telephonic exchange of ideas, an amazing plot for the city’s first reality show was born.
As usual, I began my show at 8am. But unlike any other normal day, I was consumed by mixed emotions – butterflies in my stomach because of being clueless about what a ‘first-day-first-show-Rajni-film’ experience could be; grief in my heart because I was going to be away from the Studio through which I would normally connect with every single listener in Chennai; buzz in my head over the fact that I was going to share my experience with the rest of Chennai through the city’s first ‘reality radio show’. Not surprisingly, all these emotions surfaced naturally and realistically every time I held the microphone, in the first hour.
Though I left the studio – with grudging reluctance as well as impatient excitement, at about 9am, my engagement with my listeners continued uninterrupted. Yes, I connected with my listeners live, and on the move, as I shared the festive celebrations that I witnessed all along my journey to the theatre. The celebrations had assumed a dimension of maniacal revelry when I reached the theatre.
The theatre was bursting at its seams with a confluence of Rajni fans engaged in a variety of acts and antics – a cascade of fireworks; smashing pumpkins, performing pooja and pouring pots and pots of milk (a typical Tamil tradition reserved for festivals) in front of, and ove,r giant-sized Rajni cut-outs.
I was overwhelmed with surprise, shock, disbelief and awe – a never-before experience that I shared with my listeners, live from the locale.
Presto! When the doors to the auditorium opened finally after a long and impatient wait, fans just stormed in (including the trembling me and my friends), in a mad scramble for their seats. Even before the last few seats were taken, the screen came alive with Rajnikanth making his opening appearance. Believe it or not, the atmosphere inside the auditorium turned into a scene of frenzy – colourful confetti, fans prostrating in front of the screen deafening screams and whistles for a full fifteen minutes during which not a single sound from the film was even remotely heard. I wanted to share this moment with my listeners, but the mayhem inside rendered my outdoor broadcast gizmo ineffective. But my uncontrollable desire to share the moment sent me scrambling to the rest room, from where I connected with my listeners – talk about going places with radio.
Groping back to my seat, I realized that the film was gathering momentum, but the screams inside were getting cacophonic, forcing me to sneak myself under my seat to muffle the ambient noise to call somebody from the Studio to take over the show, as there was no way I could be heard from inside the auditorium.
Wow! What an experience! My first-day-first-show Rajni film. It may happen again if I am able to gather enough courage to encounter a similar experience.
Double Wow! What an experience! My first ‘reality radio show’. In fact, Chennai’s first. Not for nothing is it said – RADIO GIVES YOU BETTER PICTURES. Truly, my best moment on air.
Shanmugapriya U
Host of the Breakfast Show – Avasarakozhi 008
Hello FM 106.4
Chennai
