BY RJ NEHA
Radio Mirchi
There is nothing like a good jam session. Nah, not the one that we get stuck in daily on the crowded roads of our city! The one that makes you sit back and enjoy the sound of music. A space where we have the violin, guitar, harmonica, keyboard… blending with some of the most beautiful voices in the industry. Make that a weekly dose that you can enjoy to drive away the pre-Monday blues… That’s, Sunday Music Company for you!
My boss Indira came up with this cracker of an idea about four years ago. And man, was I glad that she asked me to host it! With the help of Prackriti, the head of our Bollywood desk, we carry out a three-hour session every Sunday evening, dedicated purely to music. Even the Good Lord seems to be smiling down at my miniscule attempt to spread joy!
Madonna’s ‘Music makes the people come together’ is one of my favourite music quotes. And in this case, the people are none other than some of the most renowned as well as hugely talented upcoming artistes - singers, lyricists, musicians and music composers who grace our studio with their presence every weekend and turn the show into a mini concert!
If we’ve had the lovely Sona Mohapatra walking in with her entire band, we’ve also had Nandini Srikar creating magic with her voice and a sole twelve – string guitar. There’s chat about how the artistes started off, their journey, experiences, concerts, films… and as we go along, the banter is broken by sweet unplugged melodies.
Many secrets have been disclosed, many hearts have been opened. Eminent musicians like Pritam have succumbed to our Mirchi-daar demands and created instant madness. The challenge was to change the lyrics of Barfi’s ‘Aashiya’ from ‘Itti si hassi, itti si khushi’ to ‘itta sa whole milk, itta sa sugar’, thereby singing out the recipe to a Bengali Barfi (Sondesh)! And the Teddy Bear look-alike obliged with a grin!
Music director Sneha Khanwalkar is the rock-chick on the block. She came, she sang, she conquered. The Mirchi gang turned into the Gangs of Wasseypur when we all picked up an instrument each and dived right into the madness called ‘Womaniya’!
Adnan Sami was in the house once, chatting about his new album. Somewhere during the interview, he made a solemn request to all the listeners, “Judge the artiste from his work and not his personal life.”
In the midst of a Kavita Seth interview recently, she broke down while singing. The song reminded her of her husband who passed away in December 2011. A lump in the throat soon choked her voice. The only thing that cheered her up again was, well, another song! I requested her to sing, ‘Tumhi Ho Bandhu Sakha Tumhi Ho’… her song from Cocktail, thinking it would be a fitting dedication to music itself. Sure enough, there we were, singing together and agreeing that there truly is no medicine like music!
Besides the Mirchi studio in Mumbai, the show has been conducted from many places. Sound studios of Salim Suleiman, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Amit Trivedi, Roop Kumar Rathod, Vishal and Shekhar and at times, on an ISD call too!
But here’s the best part - you don’t have to move one bit to catch all the action! Just tune in, every Sunday evening from 6 to 9 pm to Radio Mirchi 98.3 fm, Its Hot! (Oops! There I go! Once an RJ, always an RJ!)
Feedback: heena.n@prpundit.com
