By Shilpa Raina, IANS,
New Delhi : His impeccable sense of humor, deep baritone and ability to connect with his listeners through his pranks have made him very popular but Radio Mirchi’s 98.3 FM RJ Naved feels his job has made him “insane” – something he is not complaining about.
“Ever since I have become an RJ, I know just one thing and that is to make my listeners happy, which I do through my pranks and mimicry. Thinking about these pranks all day has definitely made me insane,” Naved told IANS.
“Now I try to find humour in each and every situation, as life is all about spreading happiness. If I can bring a smile to the face of my listeners with my stupid pranks, I believe that is the best I can give to society,” he added.
Naved was the winner of the Radio Mirchi RJ hunt 2004 and started out as “Dr. Love” and then moved on to host “Total Filmi”.
Now he hosts the prime time show “Sunset Samosa” that airs Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and features a “Mirchi Murga” (phone prank) section that is undoubtedly the USP of the show.
“This section is so popular that people are not interested in winning prizes, they just want me to play pranks on their near and dear ones,” Naved explained.
In “Mirchi Murga”, Naved alters his voice to call up people and irritate them with his prattle to the extent that they lose their temper and bang down their phones – and at times even abuse him.
Once he telephoned a girl who was seeking help of matrimonial sites to find a match. He tried to convince her to join a matrimonial service he was running as he could easily arrange for her to get married twice, with a similar number of divorces thrown in.
Quite understandably, the girl started abusing him – and that’s what the effort was all about.
To the listeners, it might seem easy, but Naved says devising the pranks is the most difficult part of his job.
“It takes me around three hours to make up a prank. People do not know the amount of hard work I put into this section as to create humour during a conversation is very important and at the same time, it is very difficult also,” Naved maintained.
“Ideas are also very important in this section and it also depends on whom you playing prank, as there are people who are so boring that the prank falls flat,” he added.
Naved has also played pranks on Bollywood actors like Raveena Tondon, Vidya Balan, Rakhi Sawant and many more but he feels that playing a prank on the common man is a challenging job and, at the same time, increases his interaction with the listeners.
Radio jockeying has made Naved a household name but he is still a faceless man for his fans. Doesn’t it pinch?
“I am very happy and satisfied because small things in life give me happiness. Being a faceless celebrity has its advantages as I can easily walk on the streets like any other person and go out with my friends without the fear of being mobbed,” he quipped.