Radio City is a pioneer in the retro space with Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi: RJ Gaurav

In a bid to take listeners back to the Golden Era of 60s, 70s and 80s with interesting, never-heard-before stories and golden hits, Radio City has organised ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi – Live’, a Live concert, at Ravindra Natya Mandir, Dadar, Mumbai on October 21, 2016.

RJ Gaurav will be hosting the event, which will feature songs and live band performances.

‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’, which is currently in its 7th year, is Radio City’s marquee show and is hosted by RJ Gaurav, the golden era connoisseur, whose passion for retro, knowledge, originality and language keep the content of the show fresh and relevant.

‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’ showcases the golden moments of a bygone time when melody was the queen and lyrics were the king. The show has won the Indian Excellence in Radio Awards for Best Radio Programming in Hindi twice.

In conversation with Adgully, RJ Gaurav talks about the journey of ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’, what keeps the show relevant and fresh, making a name amongst a plethora of show’s on retro music and more. Excerpts:

It’s been seven years of the show ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’. What you think has worked best for this show?
Radio City’s ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’ has been running successfully since the past seven years and has been No. 1 since the last four years. The consistency in the content has undoubtedly worked for the show. Each day we present to our listeners a new, unheard story about the legends of the Golden Era, which reflects the simplicity of that era. For instance, the poetry, the RJ links, the language, etc. Various celebrities have been associated with the show. The content, from the type of music and the stories that would go along with the songs, requires extensive research and understanding.

How has the journey of ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’ been?
Retro as a genre is evergreen and makes people groove to its tunes even today. ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’ takes you on a nostalgic ride with golden melodies and moments of the yesteryear stars and has been well received by the listeners.

Music is a universal language. It is one language that appeals to each human being, irrespective of their region and state. The music of the golden era is such that it resonates with you and takes you back on a nostalgic ride. I think this is one of the reasons why Radio City’s ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’ has come such a long way.

Today, there are several shows focusing on the retro genre. How do you plan to create distinction for the show?
Radio City is a pioneer to enter the retro space with ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’, and I have been associated with this show for the last seven years and have enjoyed being a part of this journey. The differentiator for my show lies in its simplicity, combined with great music. The show focuses on evoking feelings of nostalgia amongst listeners through not just playing music, but also by sharing many inside stories and never-heard-before anecdotes related to the evergreen stars and yesteryears’ movies.

Could you share with us a few memorable moments from the show?
There have been many such memorable instances in these seven years. The best I can recollect is while interviewing legendary singer Asha Bhosle. I asked her about the Murphy Radio contest for hunting new voices for playback singing for the Hindi film industry. Hearing this, she was amazed and asked me “Aapko iss bare mein kaise pata hai..aapka toh tabhi janam bhi nahi hua tha”. It was encouraging and motivating.

What can the audience expect from the live show?
We are extremely excited about Radio City’s ‘Kal Bhi Aaj Bhi’ – Live. All the singers performing at the concert are well-known talents in their own genre and circuit. The singers are a power house of talent and have been performing for years nationally as well as internationally. Performing with them is indeed an honour and we will together create some magic at the concert.