Talk down

For the nations first MTV generation,video jockeys and radio jockeys defined cool.

Written by Natasha Sahgal

March 24, 2010 02:23 AM IST

4 min read

With their roles having changed,it seems to be the end of video jockeys and radio jockeys as youth icons

For the nations first MTV generation,video jockeys and radio jockeys defined cool. They used to be trend setters in fashion,music and conversation and were our link to international music and style. While Nikhil Chinappa made tattoos popular,Malaika Arora took shapely legs and short skirts to the top of every girls wish list. Today,we see them as nothing but props during reality shows,purveying Bollywood gossip and marketing gimmicks. Theres not much individuality left in the people who we loved to listen to in between songs on television and radio and who we once idolized as youth icons. I used to love the sense of humour of some of the VJs and also their international selections of music. Now,I switch channels when they come on air because they only talk about Bollywood and it gets boring after two minutes, says Tavish Bhasin,20,a student of HR college.

One of the major reasons for this shift in perspective,says Cyrus Broacha,is the change in show formats. Music-related shows have long been absent from channels which now call themselves youth channels as opposed to music channels. Times change and it seems that people like different things now, says the MTV VJ,Channels seem to believe that their target audience really enjoys over the top reality shows. Purab Kohli,the loquacious Channel V VJ who has now moved on to films,couldnt agree more,The word VJ doesnt stand meaning anymore, he says. They were around to play their choice of music and talk about it. Now with popular programming focusing too much on reality,the jockey doesnt get a chance to do that.

If video jockeys are losing their cool factor,one can only expect the much less visible radio jockeys to be in the same boat. People used to tune in because they wanted to listen to what we had to say. Today,they just flip stations to listen to a song because there is barely any interesting conversation anymore, laments RJ Tarana Raja Kapoor. She also feels that while her generation of RJs can still be themselves,the newer lot is not given the chance to flaunt their individuality anymore. Earlier RJs were given a lot of creative liberty. We were given enough time to have exciting conversations and talk about various issues. Today,there is not much freedom and no scope of experimentation. Everybody pretty much sounds the same, says Kapoor,who is now a television host. Former RJ Anirudh Chawla adds,Theres also too much marketing on radio now, he adds. This doesnt leave much space and chance for the jockey to pick the pace and set the right mood. I would be talking about how to deal with a two-timing boyfriend when suddenly I would have to talk about how amazing a certain jewellery shop is, he says and adds that earlier he would have four-hour long interviews with fascinating personalities like Lata Mangeshkar and now,just a two minute byte is enough to carry a whole show.

But current Channel V VJ,Juhi Pande begs to differ. So what if the content is different? she asks,This is what people want to watch so we give it to them. If they want to watch reality instead of an out-and-out music show,its our job to give it to them. The main job of a VJ is to connect to the audience. They have to fill the show with energy and humour and all that is still there. There are some others who support Pande and dont believe that the role of the jockey is redundant. The age bracket that watches these channels has gone lower, says Kohli. The adulation level might have changed from what it used to be,but its still there.

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Talk down

For the nations first MTV generation,video jockeys and radio jockeys defined cool.

For the nations first MTV generation,video jockeys and radio jockeys defined cool.