Infatuated fans who want to get close to their favourite radio jockey will stop at nothing, at times even stalking them
Infatuated fans who want to get close to their favourite radio jockey will stop at nothing, at times even stalking them Their voice is their identity, and the way they weave magic with words is their claim to fame. But for the city's radio jockeys, these very talents sometimes bring unwanted attention, when listeners convince themselves an RJ is in love with them.
|
|
|
RJ ANJAAN: Has received many 'stalking calls' on his phone from infatuated listeners who want to meet him. Anjaan says fans send chocolates, lipstick-marked photos, magazines, and even 'funny' messages and items. |
RJ PAVITHRA: She says a couple of times she has been 'forced' to have coffee or go to a movie with fans, but has always managed to get the message across that she is not interested in anything beyond. |
|
|
|
RJ RASHMI: Says she got 'stalking calls'. A few guys would keep walking around her home. One man would not stop proposing marriage. Weirdest experience? A fan once sent an ambulance. |
RJ Avinash Bharadwaj: Says a girl once got his mobile number from his office receptionist and kept calling till he managed to dissuade her from meeting him. While doing a programme for a
private channel, a girl asked him
for an embrace on camera. |
It doesn't stop there. The infatuated fans then pursue the RJs full throttle.
"I have received plenty of stalking calls from listeners who are infatuated. They ask us to meet them. I politely tell them it is not our job, but they don't understand," says RJ Anjaan from Radio One.
He said some fans could be relentless in their pursuit, digging out details with single-minded application to their chosen task.u00a0
"I wonder how they get hold of our private numbers. They call us, send gifts like chocolates, lipstick-marked photos, magazines and funny messages and items," said the radio jockey.
Lovelorn fans
RJ Avinash Bharadwaj aka Balkani Badshah from Radio Mirchi narrates an incident when a girl got his mobile number from his office receptionist and called him repeatedly. After many attempts, he succeeded in dissuading her from meeting him.
However, Avinash said there are certain situations that are unavoidable.
"When I get surprise gifts for my birthday from such people, I don't react. But once, when I was doing the programme 'Yariguntu Yaarigiila' for a private channel, a girl once came up to me and asked for a hug on camera and I was shocked," said Avinash.
Families affected
Such admiration can pose a problem for the family of the RJ, said RJ Rapid Rashmi of Big FM.
"During my earlier programme, Broadcast Bandi, I used to get these stalking calls. They worried my family a lot.
Things got worse when we realised that a few boys would wander around my house late at night. Some guys even sent flowers and jewellery to my office," said Rashmi. "Then there was this boy who used to call repeatedly, proposing marriage till I finally convinced him I was not interested."
Who's sick?
There's no knowing what might get sent to an RJ.
Rashmi, who currently anchors the show Ladies First, provided an example: "The weirdest thing was when a
fan sent an ambulance to my office."
| Giving in at times |
|
Sometimes, RJs end up giving in to their listeners. "A couple of times, I have been forced to have a cup of coffee and go for a movie," said RJ Pavithra, who hosts the 'Drive Show' on Radio One.u00a0 "But when they have indirectly shown their real intentions, I have convinced them I am not interested. Then they apologise." |
Read how RJs hear foul language on bakra shows
