Basically shy, is how Balaji Patturaj, aka RJ Balaji, describes himself on his Instagram page. Surprising, as the radio jockey who kickstarted his career in Coimbatore in 2006, is today one of the most popular RJs in Tamil Nadu. Known for his humorous take on facts and opinions, Balaji recently launched his podcast—‘Nallanna Murukku: The RJ Balaji Show’—with Swedish company Spotify, making it the platform’s first Tamil original podcast.
In fact, the first episode bagged the top spot on Spotify’s daily podcast chart. The three-week-old podcast is peppered with humour, nostalgia, and a generous dose of relevant issues. One of the episodes focused on the RJ-turned-actor and sports commentator’s social media journey and the lockdown, and the recent one had Balaji in conversation with Tamil Nadu’s Health Secretary Ma Subramanian.
They discussed mental health and the steps the state government is taking to address it. From being an RJ to now launching his own podcast, Balaji has come a long way cultivating a huge following not just in Tamil Nadu, but across the Tamil diaspora globally. With ‘Nallanna Murukku’, he wants to popularise podcasts as the new medium of information. The hyper-local name is a phrase that he has used often in his previous shows and films. “My listeners have come to associate me with the term,” he explains.
Balaji had tested waters in 2019, with what he calls a “trials podcast”. He wanted to see if the Tamil audience was aware of podcasts and how they would receive it. When the response was satisfactory, he decided to associate himself with a platform that is known for creating podcasts—Spotify. Likewise, when the Swedish company, which hosts over 2.6 million titles and has onboarded over 36 originals from India, announced its decision of creating local content for Indian audiences, Balaji was a natural fit. “‘Nallanna Murukku’ will be a show that will talk about a lot way. It’s not a different show, but the treatment is new,” he says, adding that the aim is to spread positivity in 15 minutes.
The topics will range from politics and sports to even something random that may appeal to Balaji. He focuses on infotainment, taking listeners through his own story of struggles and talking about important social issues. “A podcast should either make people better informed about something they are not aware of, or it should entertain them. It is a tough task to educate or entertain in the 15-20-minute format,” he notes. Yet, challenges abound. According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, with 57.6 million monthly listeners, India is the third-largest podcast listening market in the world. “To be relevant and make people laugh and introspect at the same time is a challenge. I have to talk about different issues or topics and keep the content engaging,” Balaji stresses.
Spotify is free for download and you can listen to ‘Nallanna Murukku’ for free.