An Interview with MJ Rakesh

As someone who needs no introduction, our next speaker who joined us for the 3rd season of the Instagram Live Series was MJ Rakesh, the man who largely influenced the world of radio entertainment and creative content generation.

His contagious positivity, energy and honest outlook on life came as a refreshing change much in need of during these distressing times. While we discussed important topics pertaining to the event and entertainment industry, Rakesh also spent a good portion of the session sharing his experiences and spreading his carefree and fun-filled vibe with the audience.

His Journey…

Coming from a conventional and rather orthodox community, his priority at the time was to ensure that his family was looked after and spent a good portion of his young adult life working 2 jobs. There was always however, a long-standing desire to become an entertainer and explore the area of entertainment and content creation. Starting his career at ‘All India Radio’ he went on to do quite a bit of work with radio and on air entertainment.

The mastermind behind the fictional character, Professor Ulfat Sultan, Rakesh eventually established himself as a ‘Mic Jockey’ as he claims to be for his versatility working across different mediums.

We then went on to discuss his incredible range of work that has been in the making for the last 10 plus years and his involvement in a web series for which he is currently preparing for. Developing new characters and creating unique, exciting and interactive sessions to cater to an online platform today, is what has kept him busy during the lockdown.

Virtual Events today

An in-depth discussion on virtual events and the nuances and intricacies that go into executing a virtual event was held wherein Rakesh was thorough in his delivery of helping us understand his point of view. The key to executing successful virtual events lies in answering 2 questions- What needs to be done and how best to do it?’ in a manner that adds value to your customer while ensuring that something new and exciting has been created.

When it comes to virtual events, the biggest influencing factors are timing and planning, both of which directly impact the success of a virtual event with the biggest drawback being the lack of human emotion. And it is to overcome this barrier that Rakesh strongly believes is where the power of good content comes into play. By developing and creating content with the objective to keep the audience entertained and encouraging them to interact, it is quite improbable for any virtual event to be a failure. At the pace at which the virtual space is growing at today, it becomes increasingly important to master the art of efficient planning and generic and unique content generation.

Time spent in lockdown

While he owes 50% of his ability now to address virtual gatherings to the radio space, Rakesh is aware of his keen and innate desire from very early on in life to create impactful content that could make a difference to the way distance entertainment is portrayed and executed. 

He goes on to share a few tips and pieces of advice for those looking to work in similar areas of the industry and is a strong believer of the saying-‘You are only as good as your last show’ and that it is through consistent practice, patience and diligence that you succeed.

As someone with no shortage of creative juices, Rakesh found the pandemic to not have affected him as seriously as compared to most others. His job as an entertainer and influencer requires him to be the source of action rather than wait to catch on with what’s happening and this he believes is why most content generators and entertainment professionals like himself were able to keep themselves afloat in spite of the economic downfall.

With quality content creation as his sole motive and objective, Rakesh was never one to be influenced and driven by any monetary compensation but rather was inspired by his drive and passion to create exceptional pieces of work. This is truly one of his most inspiring qualities that makes him one of the most respected and recognized MJ’s of his time.

Not allowing himself to be sidetracked by the distraction of competition, Rakesh encourages collaboration and working together to create better customer experiences and finding it in oneself to develop incredible content.

Parting thoughts

Rakesh leaves us with an optimistic perspective on the future of the industry, positive that the virtual event space is here to stay with its several benefits from reduced costs to greater possibilities to enhance customer experiences.

As an entertainer he is expressive, as a content creator, he is witty and generic and as an influencer and mentor he is compelling. Rakesh is today one of the biggest sources of inspiration for budding event and entertainment aspirants across the country and it was an absolute joy to host him and share his journey and experiences in the industry.

In case you missed out on the live session, click here to watch