Whatever happened to the City's rhythm divine? "It's with great anguish that I discovered that the music scene in Bangalore is dead," declares Bangalore-bred MTV VJ Nikhil Chinappa, unequivocally.
Nikhil, who was in the City for the launch of MTV Roadies Cheat Code, says, "Bangalore soaked up all the music at one time." Way back in the 1990s, concerts were a daily affair in the City and they decided the way Bangaloreans drew up their day's programme.
The ban on night clubs is symptomatic of the death of music, he avers. "A society that is not allowed to make its own choices is no democracy and the government that lays such bans is nothing more than a wolf in a sheep's clothing," he reasons.
Yet, Bangalore evokes fond memories in Nikhil. He still misses the days he used to play cricket out on the streets, hop in and out of every dhaba on the city outskirts and go for long drives.
An architect by profession, Nikhil was keen on becoming a bartender at one time and had almost signed up with Club Medd to work with them. He loves the vibes in a bar and listening to music which he believes is a unifying force.
Nikhil, however, is enjoying his current assignment as a judge on the MTV Roadies 6. "MTV Roadies is neither scripted nor faked, it only creates a scenario that puts pressure and gets people to react to a particular situation," he says.
Reality Shows simply annoy Nikhil. He thinks they're all so put on. At the roadies, they pick people who have strong personalities. "After Roadies every contestant would have surely changed for the better. They would be more collected and everything in life suddenly starts falling in perspective," explains Nikhil, who has started work on the next MTV Roadie show.
Addicted to electronic and dance music, his love for this genre has taken the form of a new website:submergedsaysdance.com. The site will provide a forum for serious discussions on music. "There's no piracy and no sharing of music on this site," says Nikhil.
His mega project, Sunburn Festival, is a long term one and this year's music is only going to be bigger and better.
Nikhil says Bollywood has never been in his scheme of things.
