Telarindoi Mama…Sekhar Basha is here on 92.7 Big FM.” He greets his listeners with this familiar line in the morningWith this greetings he greets his listeners in the morning and in the next couple of hours Sekhar Basha dons as many as nine roles, giving news updates, stock trends to gold prices, rythu bazaar updates to traffic cautions and many more. “My day begins at 7 a.m. in the morning in the studio but it isn't as simple as walking into the studio and starting to talk. I have my own homework to be done before I go on air,” explains Radio Jockey Raja Sekhar who is popularly known as RJ Sekhar or Sekhar Basha.
So is that the secret to winning the best RJ award from the India Radio Forum for the breakfast show? “The homework bit is a must to be a good RJ and this isn't the first time I am getting the award. I won the award for six consecutive years. This year was special because I made it a point to be at the ceremony where the who's who of the radio world arewere present. The specialty thing about this award is that they don't announce nominees or awardees before hand. The award ceremonyies happens at the end of a long radio conference. I attended the conference and wasn't expecting the award after winning it for the five consecutives years. But I did it this time as well. However, I have made a request not to nominate send my name the next time on the list for nominations. It would be nice to see others get the trophy and see where I stand,” says Sekhar.
After a morning of non-stop one-sided-chatter, doesn't it get boring? Sekhar jumps in and explains the time break-up, “A radio jockey in the breakfast show needs to squeeze in everything in eight minutes. Within the same time there is the need to pack squeeze in some riddles. Here again I create my own riddles.”
Riddles, stocks, weather… that's a lot to handle. And if you thought Sekhar, the winner of best RJ for the breakfast show, would must have thought a lot about this profession then he might just prove you wrong. A computer science engineer by profession, Sekhar's keen interest in acting landed him a song-request show for children on TV kids and “despite being on the show for over a month, I wasn't getting my body posture right. The producers weren't happy with my body language. Finally they decided to give me a prop and that worked out quite well. My show on a local Telugu TV channel is called Hi Bujji and the request callers call me Annayya.
But I haven't thrown up my degree. I completed my education for knowledge and apply whatever I learnt each day I am using it everyday. When I am not too busyt I would be designing programmes for phone, applications or think of some interesting ways to presentgive the news for my show.”
Sekhar's diction, which changes from Deccani to any other regional dialects of the state, isare what makes his shows more popular and Sekhar attributes most of it to his engineering days in Mysore University. “A lot of students from Andhra Pradesh go to study in Mysore University and we address each other as mama, that's how I started addressing my callers and it seems to have caught on.”
“On November 6, 2009, I first started Kevu Keka on my show. It referred to anything that wasmeans ‘too good.' I am not really looking for credit but when the song Kevu Keka came out for from Gabbar Singh happened, I was the happiest,” says Sekhar who's a very good mimic too.
To make us understand about the interesting ways of delivering headlines and traffic updates, Sekhar played some of his earlier recording of the day to give us an idea of how his mono act happens off stage. On that particular day he was giving traffic updates on the Begumpet road which was dug up and as a result of which the dust made visibility difficult for everyone.
Sekhar says radio gave him the same popularity in a week which TV gave over several months. “That's when I realised that radio is not only popular really and it can reach everyone everywhere and can be the means of entertainment or to attain knowledge or news.”
Having done so much, said all those good words about Sekhar says is he still pinning his hopes onof seeing himself on bigthe screen. Acting is what he is most keen about and once he experiences that, he will go for his next goal, “Direction. I just don't write my own riddles and scripts for my shows. Over the years I have written some scripts and once I am ready I will direct movies.”
So is the long unkempt hair a preparation for some role in a movie? “I am waiting for a change in my looks. Each time I visit the salon with the same request, they send me back asking me to return after 15days. I want curls, so I am growing my hair,” explains Sekhar as the photographer asks him to arrange the fringe and set it away from him eyes.
Arranging his hair Shekhar says, “Now it's time I was given the evening slot where I can talk more with my listeners.” Does he flirt on air?
“Of course. I would call it admiring and appreciating my I admire and appreciate my female callers voice or line of thought and pep them up if they are troubled. For them I am just a voice and if words can go to make someone's day, why not?”
He might dream to see himself on the silver screen and then eventually direct but radio has shown him a few scenes which looks like it is straight from a movie, “I have a slot for callers who can call and lodge various civic complaints or discuss personal issues. Few years back an old gentleman called me and told about his pending pension issues. Something which we see in Munna bhai…. My heart went out tofor him and through a few sources which I have gathered through our radio channel, I soughtseeked help. In less than a week the pending work of the senior citizen was done. How I came to know? The senior citizen came to meet us with a box of sweets,” recollects Sekhar.
