MUMBAI: She is fun, energetic and always on the go. We are referring to the famous Radio Jockey from Big FM Goa, RJ Namrata. While she is currently running two shows, ‘Big Memsaab’ and ‘Property Beat’, these are not the only things that the RJ does. She also writes poetries, stories, acts and travels. In conversation with Radioandmusic.com she talks about her journey as an RJ and more.

Excerpts:

Did you always want to be an RJ?

Not really. I was more into theatre, films and anchoring till I started developing a liking for Radio. I never wanted to take up a job hence, I always took freelance work, which is why radio was nowhere in the picture. But, my sister use to work for All India Radio (AIR) and I used to visit her office often. Once I even participated in a play for their show ‘Yuva Vani’ and received a positive response from everyone. This pushed me to take up a job at AIR FM Rainbow. However, RJing there was not full-time, so I continued doing it.

When did you move to BIG FM?

At the time, there were no private radio stations in Goa. Gradually, these stations started popping up, and one of my college friends was recruiting RJs for the same. In an attempt to help my friend I was sending newcomers from Rainbow to BIG, but unfortunately just two of them cleared. So, my friend asked me to audition for it. I avoided it for a while, but eventually gave in. I was the 37th person to have auditioned, and I cleared it at BIG FM on the day of my interview. The team called me after three days and asked me to join at once. I was not too sure of it but then my AIR team supported me, and I came down to Mumbai for training. After a month, I was back in Goa working for Big FM.

But you never wanted to take a full time job. What happened to that?

I had a condition before joining BIG FM. I had told them that I would continue with my anchoring and acting work as and when it comes. My basic idea of being free was to be allowed to do what I wanted to. And BIG FM never stopped me from it. I still anchor movie launches and various other events.

How do you balance it all?

Radio is time consuming but if you are focused and if you manage to prioritise things it becomes easy. I love doing it all – working, partying, hanging out with friends, exploring new places. I do it all along with my job as an RJ. Everyone gets yearly appraisal at work similarly one can also set a yearly goal, to do something new. So, I set goals and do all that I want to.

Tell us a bit about your shows?

When I initially started working as an RJ with BIG FM I was offered a 9 to 1 show ‘Love Mein Twist’. It was a late night show, and it was a bit out of my comfort zone but I took it up. However, I felt that my energy was not being used on this show so I came up with the idea of a show that explores the unseen Goa. This was an afternoon –weekend show called ‘Big Trip’. While, I was doing the above two shows I also got ‘Big Connection’, where people could dedicate songs to their loved ones on this show. This too was a weekend show. After a while, all of this had become a bit too much to handle. However, around the same time, ‘Love Mein Twist’ was replaced by another show giving me some time. Soon, I got an evening show ‘Big Fatashow’. People who talk a lot in Goa are called ‘Fatashow’ and we used this to play pranks on others. There were times when I would get abused by the person on the other line (laughs).  

So, it was something new every time?

Yes, it was. I also did an evening game show ‘Just Chill’ and currently I am working on ‘Big Memsaab’ and ‘Property Beat’. ‘Big Memsaab’ is a show for women and we do different things on different days on this show. For example there is a day when health expert come in, there are days for recipes, Bollywood special days and more. ‘Property Beat’ helps one understand more about property, interior designing, etc. So, we have experts from these filed sharing their experience on the show.

How important is it for an RJ to be socially active?

Everything is digitalised these days hence, it is extremely important to be digitally active. However, one has to be very careful while dealing with people on social media. At times you come across some strange people who say and do things that can offend you.

What is next for you?

I am currently busy writing a script for a film and I hope to get a good producer soon. So, that is the next thing for me.