A road ahead

CREATING NEW MUSIC Nikhil Chinappa

The youth-based reality show, MTV Roadies is back with yet another season, Roadies Rising . Harbhajan Singh is the latest to feature in the show along with Rannvijay Singh, Neha Dhupia, Prince Narula and Nikhil Chinappa. Chinappa replaced Karan Kundra whose team won the show last year. Being a massive EDM fan, Chinappa started Submerge Music which is known for having been instrumental in bringing the most prominent DJs to India.

Excerpts:

Tell us about your return to Roadies after 17 years and how excited are you about it?

Karan Kundra had an issue because of clashing dates. So they asked me to step in as I have been a part of

Roadies before. They thought I would fit in and I could not disagree.

I am pretty much excited. The show has changed over the years. The format has changed. It has become a lot more layered, a lot more competitive. The competition is not just among the contestants, but among the gang leaders as well. This time we will be visiting some of the historical battlegrounds in India, like Jhansi, Kurukshetra and Panipat. The show is not just about competitive stories, it's about passion. The tasks are going to be different this year. We have put a lot of adversity in the tasks.

How did the idea of Submerge Music come about?

I got frustrated with the slant of music in Mumbai. Then, a friend of mine and my girlfriend at that time decided to start something of our own in parties. It was, basically, born out of frustration.

Your experience of hosting VH1 Supersonic?

I was hosting music festivals at that time and I had to pick myself up. My family was planning a festival at the same time. So, we joined hands and we built VH1 Supersonic and now, it is the best festival in India and it continues to grow. So, you can say that there is a little bit of Roadies spirit in VH1 Supersonic.

How is VH1 Supersonic different from Sunburn?

We created a completely different demographic. Our line-up is far more evolved, there is a lot more diversity in the line-up in terms of production. It’s like chalk and cheese!

Your plans for this year

I am focussing on Roadies . We have a shoot ahead of us which is going to be quite gruelling. One of the challenges that I personally have is the gang that I am going to take charge of. It is Karan's gang but I wasn't a part of the audition process. But I am also happy because Karan won Roadies last year and he knows what goes into picking a good gang and how to motivate them. Before he left for UK, he and I had a chat about the gang and what their strengths are. The X-Factor here is Harbhajan Singh. He is going to constantly appear on the show.