Radio City’s popular jock RJ Gaurav dons the hat of a storyteller every night on his retro show ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’. With plenty of anecdotes for each song in his bag, the jock continues to relive the golden era of bollywood even today. As his show completes four memorable years today, the jock turns into a musical storyteller in this week’s musical rendezvous:

When I started this show, the test was what new I can do with it that will be entertaining. We were not even born in the 60s so the challenge was to walk backwards and get out all the stories of that time. But it was a lot of fun to understand the gossips and stories of that era. I feel I have got something very meaningful through this show. It not only takes us on a nostalgic trip, but is also very inspiring for me to host it every day.

As an RJ, stories are very hard to find. There is one of Shammi Kapoor when he was in Kolkata as a child studying in a co-ed school. It was raining and he was completely wet. His teacher made him remove all his clothes and ordered the peon to get a fresh pair for him, making him sit in a towel for the entire class. These are stories of the time when media was not very active. So checking their authenticity has also been a big task. It’s more difficult because most of these artistes have passed away, while the rest are senior citizens who only remember certain incidents.

I know small pieces of trivia where Pran used to travel in early morning local trains without a ticket to get to the studios, as there was no checking at that hour. Lata Mangeshkar used to go walking to studios so she could save some money to buy vegetables for her house, while Anand Bakshi and Khayaam used to work in the army. Majrooh Sultanpuri was a hakim. Then he turned into such a famous shayar that he has written most of Aamir Khan’s songs.

So that was a time when all the artistes were struggling collectively and something new was being created. Nowadays, many artistes come to the studio and they don’t realize the difference between TV and radio. They tell their makeup artistes to do a touch up before the interview and then I remind them that this is a radio interview.

Like the golden era, I feel that retro music is also very strong, and we only call it retro because we have to categorize it. Otherwise I would like to call it real music. The best part about it is that all generations enjoy it and have an instant connection to the songs in different situations. I feel that this music has come to us with a lot of difficulty.

There is a lot of music that has come in today and it will always continue to be like that. Devotional and Sufi music was already present, while bollywood or Hindi film music has continued to grow over the years. Earlier the composers used to work with classical or folk tunes, and then slowly they started adopting western influences of music. It’s not only today’s composers who use western influences in their music. Even in the golden era composers like Shankar-Jaikishen, OP Nayyar, SD Burman and more brought in western tunes and instruments in their music. Music was not only limited to flute or sitar, it transitioned to saxophone also. This further increased with Pyarelal ji who used to play the violin, while Laxmikant ji used to play mandolin. The western influences were there and will continue to remain so.

The point here is that if you talk to any trade analyst today regarding listenership, they will say that retro music is what people generally turn to as it connects with them instantly. For example, in many advertisements the songs used are those belonging to 70s or 80s which have not been heard by today’s generation. There are also many film-makers who get inspired by some classic songs and use some part of it to construct an original track.

Item numbers were present in bollywood since the golden era. Helen’s tracks were the item songs of that era. The songs are meaningful today also, but what has changed is that today we don’t want to listen to songs; instead we want to watch them. Earlier all the item tracks of Helen, Nadira and more had a kind of connection. Today, these tracks are made just for promotion. It is not bad as promotion is necessary, but visually they try to change the focus through suggestive clothes so that you don’t focus on the song and dance on its rhythm and beats. Everytime someone makes an item song, a remixed version of it is already ready with a club feel, lounge feel and more.

Bollywood has been an important part of our society and we can’t ignore it. Moreover, if people today did not want item numbers, they would not have become such instant hits. Mobile ringtones feature them; even standup comedians use these songs as part of their act. Today, these songs have become the face of many actresses and they proudly say that they are working on an item track for a particular film.

This is just a phase and I am sure that after some years when people look back, it will only be the melodious songs that they remember. ‘Tum Jo Aaye’ was one track where percussion was used so well, the track became an instant hit so melody does work.

There are a lot of songs from the earlier era that we don’t hear today. There were a lot of composers who made some good music at that time. They became instant hits but not all are carried forward to the present. If we sit back and look at the time from 90s to 2000s there were very good songs then also, and all the superstars of today were made back then through films like Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and more.

I have interviewed many legends and a funny thing they have told me is that their seniors would say that the music has been ruined due to them. The same thing kept happening in every era, and in the middle, music actually got ruined. But I feel that every era will give something good to the generation that is yet to come.

It’s true that no one can be like Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd Rafi and more because the people who have achieved milestones in the beginning, they are all references to us today. Shah Rukh Khan is a very popular romantic actor today, but he can’t have the same craze that was seen in the days of Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan.

We are living in a different age altogether. Now if anyone uploads a song on the internet, it goes on to make thousands of people crazy. Anything has the capacity to go viral. And if we talk about music, we will have to look beyond bollywood also. If we are only stuck up with bollywood, then we will have atleast 500 item songs and 10 item queens just dancing on those numbers, within the next five years.

I believe in the saying that ‘Old is Gold’. What is old, that is new. And what is new, is lost somewhere. Nowadays, you listen to five melodious songs but all of them have been sung in the same way. There was also a time when people knew that the songs will have only one particular rhythm. These phases keep coming. But if we talk about today, I will say that musicians today are confused. The problem is that we don’t have any good words left. Even if there are lyricists who use them, people don’t understand.

I feel that a perfect song should encompass a good unit of lyrics, composition and rendition. If all these three aspects are not correct, the song won’t turn out well. We have good singers, composers and lyricists but a good combination is not working out today.

Kishore Kumar was one of those artistes who was very interesting professionally and personally. There are so many stories of him, that my listeners enjoy. One thing that gives me a kick is when I go to interview a legend and they ask me how I know a particular fact as not many people know about it. I feel happy when legends acknowledge my research.

I remember when Rishi and Neetu Kapoor had come to the studio, they were so fun loving. I was interviewing them and I played a dialogue of the film ‘Do Kaliyan’ where Neetu ji had played the role of a child artiste. I asked Rishi Kapoor to recognize the voice. He answered correctly and he also imitated her. The small loving fights between them, Neetu ji’s control over things and his food were very entertaining.

When I interviewed Asha Bhosle, she had told me she has only 15 minutes for the interview, but she sat through the entire interview for 45 minutes. She answered every question patiently which was very inspiring.

Anandji had asked me how many ‘sur’ are there in music since I belong to the space. I told him there are 12 so he asked me why. I told him there are 12 months, sun signs and more so it is a fundamental figure. He did not say anything but later explained everything which was very interesting.

When we tell these stories to our listeners, we must know the art of storytelling. When we had started, our focus was music and trivia. But, this show is beyond trivia and songs. It tells stories which have been unheard by many people. It connects listeners to the golden era through these stories.

For example, Asha Bhosle had told me that she sings to earn money and she sang songs of every genre without being choosy about it for the same reason and Laxmikant-Pyarelal used to play cricket after each of their recordings

Radio as a medium should remain very consistent and I get that here. All these stories that people tell me about their lives gives me a different feel and experience of the show altogether and listeners also enjoy it. Listeners have given me such positive feedback and have told me to increase the duration of the show.

I remember when Prakash Mehra had passed away and I was doing a tribute show on him, I got a call from one of his employee and he was very happy that we remembered his boss.

I had also got a call from Rajesh Khanna’s makeup artiste when the actor had passed away. He had told us how down to earth and polite Rajesh Khanna was and more such anecdotes. Once I was doing a birthday special for Anand Bakshi. During the show, I got a call from his family saying that they are getting continuous messages of the show from people.

So these people add to my listeners and make my show more special. Competition will always be there on radio. I listen to my competitors shows as well. The music might be the same that is being played but the personality you build and content is what the key difference is.

I aim to continue doing good work and present stories to my listeners so that it remains immortal for many years to come.