Actor-TV presenter Yudhishtar Urs, known as VJ Yudi, says there was a time when being a video jockey was the coolest thing to do. He says musicians and VJs of the 1990s could come together for a reunion concert to celebrate that era.
Former VJs like Nikhil Chinapa, Cyrus Broacha, Cyrus Sahukar, Mini Mathur, Gaurav Kapur, Ranvir Shorey, Maria Goretti and Shruti Seth were present at Yudi’s wedding last year.
Asked if they are planning to do a project together, Yudi told IANS: “One of the ideas that we were talking about was that we should do a small reunion concert. It will be great to have a reunion concert of all old musicians and VJs who were part of that 1990s culture.
“It will be a fantastic way to celebrate that era. This is just between the VJs. We were thinking of an idea like that. It’s just a thought.”
Without taking names of the people involved in this, he said: “Everybody is doing different things. Some have become actors or directors.”
Yudi is also tied up with his directorial debut, a web series titled “Magnificent Motorcycle Men”, which will showcase biker stories and highlight biking trends, styles and adventures.
But he hasn’t forgotten the time when he used to entertain the country’s youth as a Channel V VJ.
“It (Channel V) has shut down. When I left the channel (in 2006), there was a whole shift in the elite entertainment platform. Music television per se was getting faded out because most people accessed music online. Music television industry kind of didn’t keep pace with that technology,” he said.
Walking down memory lane, he said: “When I was asked to be a VJ, I was so excited because it was the coolest thing to do… more than being a movie star. That was amazing.”
“We, as presenters and VJs, were the faces of attitudinal expression which were about expressing yourself and making a bold step. Before that, you had ‘Chitrahar’. Here, you had Hindi pop, international music and other types of music.”
He recalled the time when India’s first girl band, Viva, was formed by the channel in 2002.
“They (the band members) were picked from different parts of the country and were given a chance to perform. That was a really good time for music television and also for us to be a part of that culture and to be its faces. That, for me, was really special,” said Yudi.
“Today, the things that you see online… the format was set by the Indian music channels like Channel V and MTV. These two channels had a huge part in the Indian youth culture that will never be forgotten,” added Yudi, who is passionate about cinema.
