Sheila may be sending everyone in a tizzy,but in DJ Sonyas console,Sheila has to wait in line. For this DJ,the chartbuster Ainvayi Ainvayi from the film Band Baaja Baaraat scores over every other song with Munni coming a close second. In Chandigarh for the weekend to burn the dance floor for the Havana Club DJ Night at Kava Lounge and S Lounge,this 23-year-old says unabashedly,I play one cheap song after another. I love all the cheap item numbers for these are the ones which makes people dance. Four drinks down and the crowd is ready for Sonyas classic playlist. She unleashes a series of UK Punjabi chart-toppers and Bollywoods best.There are clubs in Delhi where only a particular genre of music plays rock,jazz or house. But most of the time,people want Hindi and Punjabi for these are catchy and make everyone move, she says. Unlike other DJs who cage themselves in their DJ den,Sonya turns on the mike to interact with the crowd. A guest DJ,Sonya has been playing since she was 17. A lot of people found it odd,I was a six foot tall basketball player playing music! But it has worked to my advantage over the years, she says. She adds that deejaying is male dominated but girls could find the going easy. I get more attention,more money and less competition. Its a real fancy life, she winks. There are one hit wonders in the DJ world too,she adds,and it takes a lot to survive in this field. There are many girls taking up deejaying as a career now,but most focus on their skimpy clothes than on the music. One has to have a professional attitude and a strong network to get fresh tracks. There is a stiff fight to get it first and play it first, she confides. Sonya adds that in future,she might move to teaching deejaying,open a music store or get into music production. Or the DJ,who is also pursuing her postgraduate degree in Psychology Counselling,might involve herself with research into music therapy. Nothing has a greater feel good factor than music, she says. Play on.
