RADIO IS A THEATRE OF VOICES Golmaal GAGAN

I am from South Delhi and had a lot of fun during my school days. I was good at sports but, average in my studies. There is one memory which is still with me. I would go to Ansal Plaza mall with my friends after playing cricket in our uniforms.

Can you share your childhood memories of Delhi?

We would go to Palika Bazaar (Connaught Place) from Saket on a bus with the number 500. I also had a craze for collecting CDs. I would buy CDs of new movies as those were easily available in Palika Bazar. I am a huge fan of AR Rahman, so I would wait for his new songs to be released, as I wanted to be the first to buy his CDs.

How did you get your interest in the radio?

My father loved the radio. He was also passionate about collecting cassettes. We have two big suitcases of cassettes in our house. He was a fan of Mohammad Rafi so he would buy all his cassettes. As I told you, I even love collecting CDs and cassettes. It is all because of him.

I have grown up listening to songs and dialogues of Tezaab, Tridev, Sholay, Anand and many other such movies. We even had a cassette of famous Pakistani comedians Moin Akhtar and Johnny Lever. I used to record my voice too. I was very young, when I made the audio of jokes and named it Chutkule by Gagan. I used to do the same thing as my dad would do. So I think my father provided me with such an environment, and it helped me in many ways.

How did your journey as an RJ start?

I was working in a call centre in Delhi before doing radio. So on a random day, while I was talking to a customer. He complimented my voice and advised me to join the radio. So, that thing remained in my subconscious mind. A few days later, one of my friends told me the same thing. I started searching for an institution that gives radio training, but couldn't find it. Then, I got to know about the Academy of Broadcasting in Chandigarh. I joined the academy and learnt a lot under the guidance of Mr. Hardeep Singh Chandpuri.