Over the last fifteen years, Malini Agarwal has established
herself as a leader, innovator, and trendsetter in the Indian media and
entertainment industry. Starting as a professional dancer while attending Delhi
University, Malini soon joined MTV India as a Channel Head, where she was
charged with creating engaging television and digital content for a national
audience.
She later joined GO 92.5 FM as a Radio Jockey, and although
private radio in India was still in its infancy, she quickly drew a large and loyal
following. After 8 years in the radio business, where she rose to the position
of Programming Director at 94.3 Radio One, she accepted a role as Head of
Digital Content for Channel [v], where she oversaw all of the channel’s online
content. During this time, Malini founded the pioneering lifestyle and
entertainment blog MissMalini.com, which has quickly established itself as the
leading voice in India’s online lifestyle space. The Huffington Post, the
world’s most popular and authoritative blog, has called Malini Agarwal “without
a doubt, India’s most famous blogger”.
Here are some excerpts from Discovering-Mumbai’s interview
with Malini Agarwal
Malini can you
please shed some light on your personal background?
I’m a bit of a tumble-weed! I was born in Allahabad and
then grew up all over the world (courtesy my dad who was in the Indian Foreign
Service) as a diplobrat in Germany, Somalia, Greece, Lebenon, Ivory Coast and
Bulgaria. After college I was a professional dancer for many years with Ronica
and the Planets in Delhi and then moved to Mumbai where I created the Mid Day
website content framework and eventually moved to MTV India online to run their
romance channel. Eventually I joined Radio and was an RJ for 9 years after
which I moved to Channel [v] to run digital content. That’s when I started my
blog as a hobby and within 6 months realised that is what I want to do full
time!
So how did you get
around to becoming an RJ? When you started off private radio stations were
quite young in India, what changes have you seen in Radio over the years?
I was with MTV at the time and a friend of mine suggested I
go for an audition, since it was close by I went and luckily got offered a spot
right away! I started as an RJ when private radio had just come to India so it
was all very new and exciting. We made a lot of it up as we went along and
really created the first ever commercial radio experience for the Indian ear.
Over the years I’ve seen radio change a lot, sadly because the initial license
fees were very high a lot of stations collapased or switched to Bollywood to
survive. As a result there is very little variety on the air right now and it
seems to have lost a lot of it’s flavor and soul.
What was your first
show? What was it like going on air for the first time? What were the feedback
that you got from people and your close ones?
My first show was the nightshift on WIN 94.6 from 9pm to
midnigh. I used to go do my show live every night after working all day at MTV
but I loved it. I was quite nervous the first time and my hands were shaking!
Over time though it became my favorite moment of the day, when I’d put the
faders up and say hello to my listeners. My friends all listened to me and
were very supportive, it was an even bigger high to know that the ones you love
are listening and I’d always give them a shout out!
Keeping the
listeners engaged for hours must be a tough job? How do you manage it?
The key is really to be yourself and be engaged in what
you’re doing. Don’t fake it because it shows. The best advice I ever got was
imagine that you are speaking to just one person and that creates a bond
between you and every single person who is tuned in. I also loved researching
trivia about the songs I played and coming up with games to play on the air. In
fact I even started a radio network called Going Solo where some of my
listeners and I would actually meet every week and do something fun!
How has your style
evolved over the years?
Over time radio has become second nature to me and I switch
on my “radio voice” pretty easily. My style is peppy, up beat and
conspiritorial. Like I’m telling you something I wouldn’t tell anybody else!
Who are the RJs you
look up to and what do you like about their work?
I look up to a lot of International RJs. I like Ryan Seacrest
and find Shock Jock Howard Stern very entertaining even though he’s almost 100%
talk radio which is very hard to do! I loved listening to Jaggu & Tarana,
Genesia, TMan Nadir, Savio, Glenn… all my old Go 92.5 FM co-stars!
What’s the best
thing about being an RJ?
I guess the best thing about being an RJ is the fact that
you’re creating a live connection over the air with so many people all at once,
and the fact that it’s the theatre of the mind and you can create a magical
world with your words and music that each person experiences in the way they
chose to. (This is why most people picture their favorite RJs as drop dead
gorgeous even if they might not be!)
You have interviewed
a lot of people on air. Tell us some of your best memories from these
interviews?
Some of my favorite memories are from Pirate Radio, which I
started at 94.3 Radio One with Imran Khan, I’d get Bollywood celebrities to
come hang out in the studio with me for a few hours and play any music they
wanted and just chat, no agenda no rules. It was SO much fun and I loved doing
it! I also remember getting super star struck around Abhishek Bachchan once and
asking him if he’s ever been in love!
A lot of people call
up on Radio, have you had some bad experiences with callers on air? How do you
handle such a thing?
Well I had a weird radio stalker for many years who thought
he and I were in a relationship. I had to take him to the police station and
his mom came and slapped him in front of everyone there!
Most of the time though you get to screen your callers so
you know if they’re going to say something crazy you don’t put them on the air.
What talent does one
need to be a good RJ? What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a
RJ?
To be a good RJ you need a great personality more than a
good voice. My best advice to anyone who wants to be an RJ would be to be
yourself, remember to talk to just one person in your head (picture your best
friend is setting opposite you and talk to him/her) and have fun, it’ll show!
You also started a
networking club called Friday Club, can you tell us something about this club?
Yes I started Friday Club 7 years ago and it’s still going
strong. It’s basically a group of fun interesting people from Indian and other
parts of the world who like meeting new people. I’ve always felt that after
school or college people stop trying to make new really close friends but at
Friday Club we’ve forged amazing friendships and even though it’s not a
“singles” club as such several people met their life partners, including
myself!
When did you start
blogging and what was the thought behind starting your own blog?
I started blogging in 2008 as a hobby at a friend’s
suggestion. I did it for fun because I love writing and at the time I had
stopped doing my column in Mid Day for a short while and was missing writing
it. I had no idea at the time that it would soon become my whole world!
How has your blog
evolved over the years?
My blog has evolved into a one stop entertainment
destination for all things Bollywood, Fashion and Lifestyle realted with a desi
girl twist! Now I have a team of writers and photographers who cover events and
write about everything relevant to my audience. So it’s more of a proper online
brand now from the single person’s musings it used to be.
You also write
gossip column in newspaper. How different it is from writing a blog? What
things do you consider when writing for a newspaper?
Newspaper columns are less interactive but there is a charm
to print writing that will last forever feel. My column in Mid Day is usually
about upcoming celebrity events and hot happenings whereas the blog takes you
inside those parties and events and gives you a fly-on-the-wall perspective!
So what next for
Miss Malini?
Like I always say to my team, it’s to the moon!
MissMalini is definitely going places so stay tuned
