“It is important to make the right investment in the right relationship,” expressed RJ Errol who has completed 10 years with 92.7 BIG FM in Mangaluru. Through the medium of radio, I could reach so many people and have maintained a good relation with them which has brought me happiness, he said. He has sustained this relationship in a peaceful way which resulted in him having good friends from all over the world like Sri Lanka, Middle East and Bangkok, aho are ready to help him no matter what.
‘Radio was not something that I planned to happen in my life’
After completing his UG in BBM, RJ Errol was at a standstill and confused as what should be his next step to help provide for his family. “I only had my mother and we didn’t have any money or other support system to provide for my higher education or go to Bengaluru and Dubai to look for a job,” he said. He worked for 3 long years and finally being able to support himself, he joined Manipal University for the Masters in Communication and Journalism. “A turning point in my life took place here when I got to interview few players from Royal Challengers Bangalore like Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey for the college magazine,” he said. This put RJ Errol in the limelight and he got the opportunity to work in media.
“A friend of mine Avinash Kamat told me about an opening in 92.7 BIG FM and I joined the company on July 12, 2011,” he said. From there his career took off.
‘Big FM was my rebirth’
“10 years ago, they gave me a chance and the management at BIG FM is nothing but acted as a very good support system for me,” said RJ Errol. The company gave him the freedom and space to bring out his own flair through their programmes. RJ Errol has interviewed a lot of famous personalities like Kailash Satyarthi, Kevin Pietersen, Mammootty, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Ranveer Singh and so on. From sports, films to politics, he has interviewed over 300 people.
Together with BIG FM, RJ Errol has come up with some interesting concepts. Under his guidance in 2019, in association with the Mangaluru Police Department BIG FM launched ‘Big Traffic Guru’, an awareness programme in the form of skits showing the importance of following traffic rules. Many other noteworthy initiatives like anti-smoking campaign, and save nature save tress programmes were also conducted with his participation.
Life in the post Covid era
RJ Errol said that he has worked more than he ever did in the last two years. “Covid time was very difficult and I was part of the Covid war room and my phone was on 24 hours,” he said. He even gave out his personal number through his radio shows so that people in need can contact him. “People were confused at the beginning and fake news was spreading and I use to provide any kind of help that was needed,” he said.
“During the first wave, many people were stuck in the Gulf and Praveen Shetty from Fortune Group was providing 3 chartered flights for their return,” he said. RJ Errol was instrumental in getting passes for 30 to 40 people after he had received calls from many from Kuwait and Dubai.
Throughout the pandemic period, he has coordinated with many people and has donated grocery kits as well as always responded to the ones in need. “I am very proud of the work I have done during these two years,” said RJ Errol.
U, me and love songs
For the first seven years in BIG FM, RJ Errol conducted the show U, me and love songs where he talked about relationships and how to sustain them. “I watched a lot of videos from Khalid Almeri and Salam Mohammed YouTube channel to get information and spoke about what I learned to my listeners,” he said. This garnered a lot of attention and soon he started getting calls from couples and other people in general who were facing relationship issues. I tried to resolve these problems and guided them as much as I could, he said. RJ Errol speaks from experience and believes that whatever problems one faces in life, they should not feel as if everything is over. “This is just a bend, not the end of the road and hence people should think differently and maintain good relationships instead of giving up on them due to various issues” he said.
“The people who used to listen to me in the beginning days were kids and now they have grown up and some are even married,” he said. RJ Errol said that he feels like he has travelled through two generations, one during the pre-social media era and the other during the social media era.
Take it easy
Another highlight programme by RJ Errol is the Take it easy show which is broadcast in the evening from 5 pm to 8 pm. In this show, he gives out informative news about happenings of the day, environmental concerns, DC news and so on. “During theCovid times we have had doctors , social workers, police commissioner, DC and even the Health Minister and Education minister speak with us during the show,” said RJ Errol.
‘Hunger was my biggest inspiration’
To move forward in life, the biggest driving force for RJ Errol was the thought that he has to provide for his family and not stay hungry. “I didn’t have any money and I needed to survive and was willing to do anything for it,” he said. Ten years ago, he joined BIG FM with this need to support himself but today he is known as an RJ, TV anchor, social media influencer, movie actor, emcee, voice over artist and a marketing expert. “I am very grateful to my mother, wife, management, friends and especially my media friends who always keep me in the news,” he said.
When asked about his plans for the future, RJ Errol said, “I do not want to overthink and am not doing anything to be very popular. I am grateful for all that I have been given and will always be ready to help whoever comes to me in need!”
