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The Interview starts on a good note; it was more like two friends catching up.
Usually, interviews are places of sheer nervousness and anticipation because often we spent the time trying to maintain ourselves and not say something stupid in front of the person. But neither was there nervousness nor performance anxiety. Minutes into the interview it was two people listening to a person’s journey from a small dream to hopes of millions
That is RJ Praveen for you.
New York Festival Award for two consecutive years in the Best Innovation category and a finalist in the Best Narration category out of 30 countries, RJ of The Year at the Golden Mikes 2016, RJ of The Year – Asian Engagement Forum 2017, a book for the first time in the history of radio on his radio show which was a best seller on Flipkart and entry in the Limca Book of Records.
Praveen adorns the cap of being the most sought after RJ in the country and certainly the most versatile one too. The variety of shows and type of content he has handled is diverse, from an evening drive time show full of madness, to a one of its kind horror storytelling “Ek Kahaani Aisi Bhi” which has won so many awards and accolades both nationally and internationally, and now successfully making Kolkata’s funny bone tickle with Morning Number 1, the breakfast show every day and Aaramzaada Weekend, the first ever standup comedy show on radio.
So without further ado, we went in and asked the man himself, RJ Praveen, some questions
“Making so many people’s day through music and of course your amazing sense of humor, did sixteen years old Praveen and today’s Praveen ever imagined this?”
He answered to that saying “I never expected that I would come this far. I never thought I’d make into the radio industry. I was not sure as a teen to what I’d make out of my career, but yes I dreamt, a small dream of owning to land phone mobiles, maybe a business of import and export but future and different plans.”
Praveen was born and brought up in a small village in Bihar called Patrattu where he studied in a Hindi Medium School till class 7. He then shifted from Jharkhand (Then Bihar) to Kolkata, he got enrolled in an English Medium School and it was a totally new life for him adjusting to the norms and custom of the city
We started the Million Dollar Questions round with him
The first question being “Imagine you and the rest of the RJ crew being stranded all alone on an island, no route of escape and civilization, how would you eliminate the fear amongst yourselves?”
“Me and the rest of the RJ crew is like one family, we share, make fun of each other and are our own entertainment system. If we’re together, I don’t think we would be scared, since united”
He shared one of his hearts touching fan story, saying
“I was doing a campaign called Praveen ka Jugaad and I went cashless for a week, and what happened was my listeners would come to my house, sharing food and things. One such particular incident was with a brother and sister who came together, my shoes were in a rather bad condition that time and the sister said they wanted to gift me a pair of new shoes, and I didn’t refuse to that. So I am talking with them freely, while I could see the boy is rather very quiet and isn’t talking at all.After few minutes, I realized that he can’t speak, and is speech impaired. It felt really good that I could make someone’s day like that”
Returning to the million dollar questions
“Let’s say a helicopter arrives on the island but only four people can escape. Would you opt to be left out in the island?”
To that he enthusiastically replied “I’d not mind at all. I love adventures and was in the NCC for 3 years. I always had a knack for adventures and it won’t be a problem if I stay back”
He shared his NCC stories like how they used to travel to Barrackpore for firing camp:
“We were not allowed to venture in the night due to the fear of foxes and wild creatures. But we’d sneak out into the firing range to dig out old bullet”
He said that he is happy and content with whatever he has now and although it may feel like it isn’t so much but he loves his job and wouldn’t want more.
Which answered our question of “If you ever hit a jackpot would you mind sharing it with the team?”
“Like I said I’m content and happy with what I own and if I ever get more than what is already needed, I won’t mind sharing that luck with others”
When asked about three things he would wish for he replied saying “Evergreen health for his parents, keep growing and learning more, and to have people around him always be happy”
Superstar of Radio world may be the “Powerful P” like “Big B” yet a complete family man friend’s friend and soul filled with good human values.
That’s the Icon called RJ Praveen of 93.5 Red FM Bajaate Raaho.
Author: Sutithi Munshi
Interviewer: Antara Tripathy
Exclusive interview at 93.5 Red FM Kolkata office with the Legend and his team was held on 15 March 2018
