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Photo: S.S. Kumar

Pitching it right Young radio jockeys are tuning in to a new generation of music buffs

An interesting pattern emerges as one surfs the various stations. There are all kinds of Malayalam film music, old, new, forgotten and popular, with some offering Tamil and Hindi songs and youngsters filling the gaps with lively banter. “‘Sparklers,’” explains a station head, “are characters, audio caricatures, that slip in and out through the programmes.”

As Sreevidya, station head of Club FM, puts it: “We keep it light and fun-filled; our catch line being ‘Ton kanakkinu fun!”’

“It is more music, less talk and 100 per cent Malayalam music,” assures Nidhi Sudhan, programming head of Radio Mirchi.

Considerable audience research, qualitative and quantitative, supports the nature of the content that is aired by the FM stations. “The songs that top that list of research are what our play list is composed of,” adds Nidhi.

For Namitha Naiyar, programme head of Big FM 92.2, it’s their 44th FM station in India that’s on air and all of that in a year’s time.

With big plans for Kerala and as much in competition mode as her fellow station/programme heads who are all geared up for the big ‘air strike’ on the city, she adds that ‘kelkkooo kelpikkooo jeevitham kondadoo’ being their tag line, it’s all about living it up.

Meanwhile the pioneer Ananthapuri FM is also revising their content. “We are reviewing our programmes, to cater to our audiences’ changing tastes,” says Muraleedharan, Main Station Director with additional charge of Ananthapuri FM.

“We still have the maximum area covered in and around the city and district. The number of callers had dipped initially when new stations were launched but they are all back and the loyal listeners are still with us,” he adds.

Its not just music that’s in the spotlight here, it’s the city too. RJ’s have brought into focus the many streets, corners and by lanes of the city and its suburbs in their programmes and every station head and programme director avers that their programmes are ‘for, in and about the city.’ Playing to the Malayali’s unique taste is a big challenge, says Ravi Menon, Music Research Head, Club FM.

Deepti Sivan, station director SFM, has taken up a unique challenge of sorts. “Well, have you noticed that our RJs speak only chaste Malayalam? They are trained to improve their Malayalam speaking skills and are constantly monitored,” she says.

It is a pleasant coincidence that all the four private FM players in the city have women as programme heads. Starting at five a.m. and some at six with a morning programme, the five channels and their multitude of young RJs promise to lace your day with wit and wisdom and a steady mix of music and adverts and close shop by midnight.

When Teejay stumbled on to the Radio Mirchi jock’s hot seat with a cheeky ‘Sangathy Hottane,’ little did he imagine that this would be a line Class Ten students would use to indicate the pressure on them as D-day approaches.

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