By Mauli Buch, IANS,
Mumbai : DJ Shalom D’Souza aka DJ Hi Frequency is soft spoken, bubbly, “dosn’t like cricket”, but will rock the D.Y. Patil Stadium here Sunday night during the Indian Premier League (IPL) final with foot-tapping Bollywood hits. And yes, she’s all of seven years old.
Shalom will play her favourite Bollywood tracks along with her DJing partner DJ Devika and in-house IPL DJ Romit. This is only her second public performance and she is all excited about performing in front of 55,000 people.
“I don’t like cricket at all, but music is my passion and I am sure I will rock the stage with foot-tapping dance numbers,” she said.
Shalom’s love for DJing started when she happened to come to DJ Nasha’s workstation with her father who runs a music institute. Observing aspiring DJs learning the art, she too got interested.
“I love music, in any form. I used to get thrilled every time daddy brought me here. Other students and instructors taught me scratching and mixing and that is how I became a DJ,” said Shalom.
Of the various tracks that she will play at the IPL final, “Twist” from “Love Aaj Kal” and “Jalwa” from the film “Fashion” will be her top tracks.
“I will also play ‘All izz well’ from ‘3 Idiots’ in various versions as it is my all-time favourite track,” Shalom said.
Shalom is playful but not mischievous. She would answer your questions softly and to the point. But give her a song mixing console and you can see a transformation of sorts happening right in front of you.
It was not difficult for Shalom to follow the beats and tunes of Bollywood songs. “She has been learning Indian classical music since three years and has a good understanding of the changing beats. Never have I seen her missing a beat while transitioning from one song to the other,” said her father Ryan D’Souza.
Shalom, a student of Mary Immaculate Girls High School in suburban Borivli is good in studies too. “I don’t have to break my head with her when it comes to studies. She balances it well,” said Sherry, her mother.
On her seventh birthday Shalom manned the DJ console for the first time and played hit party tracks to keep the guests entertained.
“People were really enjoying the music. We actually forgot that we have crossed the time limit,” Ryan said.
The police came and asked for the DJ and said the DJ ought to know that he should shut down after 10 p.m.
“Before I could apologise or give an explanation they had reached the console. But they had a hard time accepting the fact that Shalom, who could hardly be seen from behind the console was the DJ,” added Ryan.
Not to mention the police let her go after giving her a warning. “I remember the expressions on their face. They just couldn’t comprehend anything,” said Sherry.