‘Response to Radio City’s ‘Made In Kerala’ has been extremely encouraging’

Rachna Kanwar, COO - Digital Media, Radio City & Mid-Day, speaks to exchange4media about Radio City’s Malayalam podcast ‘Made In Kerala’ & more

Excerpts:

How is season 2 of Made in Kerala podcast different from season 1?

Radio City’s only Malayalam podcast ‘Made In Kerala’ with Sanish Bhaskaran is focused on indulging in deep unhindered conversations with its guests. With an average show time of 45 minutes, celebrities featured in the podcast talk about their personal journey, struggles, close-to-heart moments and also about their connection with Kerala. The fact that no other media has covered their Kerala side of the story makes every interview special and first-of-its-kind for the listeners. While Made In Kerala - Season 2 will continue to follow the much preferred slow-brewing conversation pattern, a whole new fleet of guests will be featured this season. We will interview celebrities who are incredibly known for their body of work not just in cinema but across multiple genres. We also plan to conduct live and direct interview sessions for the new season.

What genres does this podcast typically cover?

The show features leading Malayali celebrities known across India as well as globally for their talent and achievements in the fields of cinema, fashion, music, and media. The common link for the celebrities would be their connection to their motherland- Kerala and their lesser-known Malayali identity.

Can you share the interview line-up of this season?

So far, our host and producer Sanish Bhaskaran has interviewed Viji Venkatesh who made her debut at the age of 71 in Mollywood (Malayalam cinema). Known for the ‘Chai for Cancer’ initiative, she is the Region Head of Max Foundation. Besides that, we have received a confirmation from Ashish Vidyarthi's team about his participation and we are working on finalizing the date for his interview. We have also reached out to quite a few leading Bollywood celebrities who have a Kerala connection. In the inaugural season, we had well-known personalities such as Benny Dayal, Remo D’Souza, Suchitra Pillai, Abish Mathew, Bejoy Nambiar and others who shared interesting insights on our show. We are working towards having some great names associate with us this season too.

What is the objective of Radio City in launching a Kerala specific podcast?

Radio City has always been at the forefront of offering relevant content strategies in various regional languages and genres to engage with the audience. As the company has embarked on its Radigitalization journey, Radio City has been developing innovative digital podcasts and Made in Kerala is one of them. Made in Kerala with Sanish Bhaskaran is Radio City’s first Malayalam podcast that brings on board Malayalee celebrities, achievers, and change-makers from different walks of life. This podcast traverses through their lives and shares their experiences and stories in an interview fashion. As the first season received an overwhelming response from the audience, Radio City is back with the second season.

How has been the audience response for the inaugural season?

The launch of season two is a testimonial to the love and admiration Radio City’s Made in Kerala podcast with Sanish Bhaskaran received in the first edition. The response has been extremely encouraging and supportive. It has come as a surprise to our listeners to know details about celebrities and discover their never discussed before Malayali connection. For instance, not many were aware that the original name of the rapper-singer Raftaar is Kalathil Kuzhiyil Devadasan Dilin Nair. Similarly, the Bollywood filmmaker and choreographer opened up about his true name Ramesh Gopi on the show and shared his pride of being a Keralite. Made In Kerala - Season 1 was blessed with such unfiltered moments that surprised leading media channels in Kerala too. Prakash Kurup, Editor of Brahmastra was interviewed by a leading Kerala media house post the release of his interview on Radio City’s Made In Kerala podcast. It is only then many learned that he is from Kerala.

Made in Kerala podcast has been ranked no.1 in the Film & Interview Category on Apple Podcasts. What would you like to say about this?

It is truly gratifying to see the podcast getting abundant traction and preference among listeners on all platforms, especially on Apple Podcast.  We were ranked number 5 in the month of May in the Film & Interview category on Apple Podcast. However, jumping to position 1 recently is the demonstration to the rich quality of content Radio City’s Made in Kerala podcast is producing. We are quite ecstatic about our ranking and are working harder to continue meeting the expectations of the loyal listeners in the second season.

About the host, Sanish Bhaskaran

Sanish Bhaskaran has been working as a communications professional since 2005. He began his career as a copywriter working purely on advertising concepts, creative ideation, sales-driven content creation, and video production. Later he switched his role to corporate communications post completing MBA from the School Of Management Studies, Cochin University. Being a ‘Malayali’ Sanish would always desire to watch shows and read content that brought Kerala to the center stage and feature the nuances of the region without being stereotypical. A Malayali/ Keralite is often projected only as a coconut lover, lungi wearer, one with faulty English conversing skills, and more. Thanks to OTT platforms, today Malayalam films are being recognized and revered for their superior content by a global audience. It was his love for Kerala that pushed him to conceive a show like ‘Made In Kerala’ in a podcast format which is ideal for today’s audience who like to consume content on the go.  Since Sanish has lived in Kerala for most of his life, understanding the nuances of a true blue Malayali culture comes to him naturally. This has helped him converse with the guests with personal touches. It’s a delight to see them share their childhood times and connections with Kerala. At times even delivered popular Malayalam film dialogues and songs during interactions.

Radio City’s ‘Made In Kerala’ podcast with Sanish Bhaskaran features up-close conversations with celebrities you knew but have never heard them talking about themselves as Malayalees. And that makes the show unique and endearing to the listeners.