After churning out some of the most successful and popular remixes of all time like “Pyar Zindagi Hai”, “Bombay In My Soul”, “Bin Tere Sanam”, among others, Sujetu Radia or DJ Suketu has defined the meaning of remix music in the mainstream Bollywood scenario.
Also an internationally acclaimed disc jockey (DJ), Suketu recently rocked the nation at the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi.
“It has been my best experience so far. Playing to about 55,000 people at the Common wealth Games in Delhi, alongside singers like Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar Mahadevan was a thrilling experience,” Suketu shares.
Journey so far
His debut remix album ‘440 Volts’ topped charts across India which had a number of hits and his second album “Ultimix” included remixes of classic 90s songs, from Mohra which also went on to become a huge hit.
His most popular remix “Bin Tere Sanam” was released as part of the ‘War of The DJs 2’ which became an instant club classic dominating dance floors across India and abroad.
But was the struggle easy? “Definitely not,” says Suketu, who has been a DJ for over 16 years now.
“I always wanted to be in the entertainment industry, but I never knew I would become a DJ. Once I attended a party where DJ Hussain was playing and I just loved the way he mixed different songs and gave it a nice tempo. I was so excited to see him playing with so many different things at a time. I was so inspired by that,” he shared.
Some of the movies for which DJ Suketu has produced remixes, include Zeher, Kalyug, Omkara, Garam Masala, Gangster, Aaja Nachle and many more.
In June 2010 DJ Suketu collaborated with international artist Keidran Jones aka Iyaz to remix the worldwide smash hit “Replay”.
As a profession
Djing did take a lot of time to even enter the list of “ideal choice of profession” for parents.
“Back in 1996, when I started, DJing was not a cool profession at all. My parents freaked out, about my choice of profession. They were not happy with me. But now, I am so glad to see parents not only happy with their children about DJing as a career choice, but they even encourage their kids and support them.”
Comparing the Djing scene now and then, Suketu says, “When I started off we focused on Bollywood music. But now Djs experiment with a lot of different genres like House, Hip Hop, Retro and create some really cool stuff. Every DJ is now working on developing a signature style of his/ her own.”
Suketu uses a Pioneer 2000 and a Pioneer DJM 800 console, which he connects to a laptop, along with a Serato and a scratch board.
One of his mix “Replay” was played on BBC Asia Network where Suketu was interviewed for being one of the only Indian DJs to have an international collaboration with a chart topping artist.
“Djs from India are now being invited all over the world. I do about 3-4 abroad trips a year and the experience and the exposure is just amazing,” says Suketu.
Critical side of remixes
But Djs do face a lot of criticism for remixing old classic numbers. Some tag them for spoiling the originality of the song.“For me remixing a song is like presenting old wine in a new bottle. I do agree that there are good and bad DJs. And one should know to what extent one can remix a song. Some remixes are utter disasters, while some really click. One should also be careful about the video of the remix and make sure it does not change the mood of the song.”
He also quickly adds that remixes revamp the old compositions and introduce youngsters to yesteryear composers.
“Many youngsters do not know about a lot of old composers and artists. At least this way they will get to know them. These days a lot of movies have remixes and people tend to connect more to these songs, as they are fast and groovy.”
Tryst with Hyderabad
Sharing his memories with the Nawabi city, Suketu says, “I love Karachi biscuits. Everytime I come, I make sure I buy over a kilogram or two.” He then goes on, “It is always fantastic to play here. It’s been over eight months since I played here, but Hyderabadis according to me like experimenting with music, always appreciate anything novel and are encouraging.”
DJ Suketu’s workshop at the Rachnoutsav Events Academy for Djing aspirants spoke about new trends in DJing, career opportunities, divulging into event management alongside Djing.