Radio Jockey Uday Chari was recently awarded the Kala Bhushan award by the Shikshak Vikas Parishad for his 20 years of contribution to the field of radio. Chari has also directed several short films and written screenplays. NT BUZZ finds out more
VENITA GOMES | NT BUZZ
If you tune into 92.7 Big FM, you can hear RJ Uday Chari entertaining listeners on two of his popular shows -‘Big Happy Hours’ and the ‘Big Mehman show’. Indeed, Chari has been entertaining radio listeners since 1999 when he started off working with All India Radio before moving to 92.7 Big FM.
What’s more, the RJ also made it to the Limca Book of Records for hosting a radio show continuously for 105 hours in 2008. Recalling that the record breaking stint happened during the Olympics that year, Chari reveals that he was treated ‘like a small baby’ during these 105 hours. “My listeners used to call me at 3 a.m. saying, ‘Uday be strong, you can do it we are with you’. Considering all this, how could I say I can’t? I did it and managed to make a record back then,” says Chari.
And his recent Kala Bhushan award conferred on him by the Shikshak Vikas Parishad is further testimony to his dedication to radio. “Every year, the organisation awards people in different fields from sports to arts to social work to farmers. This year, I was selected under the art category for my contribution to radio,” says Chari who has been in the radio industry in Goa for 19 years.
Besides radio, Chari, who hails from Bicholim, also holds a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts (Painting). “I believe painting too is a media and a form of expression, through which one can reach out to the masses. If you have noticed rock engraving and paintings in the earlier times it was mostly used for communication. Sometimes, we fall short of words but through painting we can showcase what we think. I still continue to paint even though I am into other many other activities,” he says.
Chair has also tried exploring several others areas of art including film. “Since I belonged to the visual art background, I always felt that cinema was an extension of painting. But moving to filmmaking was not an easy task as it required a lot of finance and back then I did not have so much of money. I remember I was working as sub-editor with a local Konkani newspaper daily and that time we had column ‘Fade in Fade out’ and for which I wrote over 50 screenplays,” he says.
It was in the year 2004 when International Film Festival of India started in Goa, and after participating in a moviemaking competition that was a part of it that Chari decided to get more involved in the film space. He got himself a video camera by saving money and soon started shooting short films. “The story of my short films would often connect to the audiences and at one of the award ceremonies, veteran filmmaker Aziz Mirza was present and he too took part and discussed about film ‘Atmaklesh’ which was a memorable moment for me,” he says.
Chari has since directed around 20 short films and has written several screenplays. He believes that though money is an important aspect of filmmaking it is not always about the finance but more about the story. “Today, there may be good quality cameras and video cameras but back then there was hardly any affordable equipments. But if you have the passion and a story, I believe you can do it anyway. I make films based on stories that inspire and connect to me,” says Chari.
And Chari believes that in Goa there are talented youngsters and artistes but little is done in order to motivate and encourage them. “They should not just sit with their own forms but should explore other various forms at the same time and try learning from one and other, so, that there is communication through art,” he says.
At 47, there is no stopping Chari. He wishes to gain more knowledge and wants to continue making films. “I want to make a film story everyday by recording everyday life for the next 3 years at least,” he says. Alongside, Chari will continue entertaining and informing listeners through the radio.