UAE’s Radio Mirchi relaunches morning show

Radio Mirchi has launched a three-week campaign titled Dreamum Wakeupum, Morning Superum, tagged to their daily breakfast show. Tune in and you might win exciting prizes, say the RJs Mohit Dantre and Vikrant Bhatnagar.

Mohit Dantre, left, and Vikrant Bhatnagar. Jaime Puebla / The National

Mohit Dantre and Vikrant Bhatnagar are brothers in arms. They finish each other’s sentences, indulge in constant banter and even dress similarly. And now they’re together again, hosting the newly relaunched Mirchi Morning Show on Radio Mirchi UAE, owned by Abu Dhabi Media (which also owns The National).

The RJs moved to Abu Dhabi from India last year to “add zest” to the daily five-hour morning show that expatriates from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh tune into during their commute to work.

“We are ‘sunshine’ people who want to make a great show. We want people to tune in and be part of our conversations,” says ­Dantre.

Radio Mirchi has launched a three-week campaign titled Dreamum Wakeupum, Morning Superum, named from a song from the 2012 Bollywood romantic comedy Aiyyaa, starring the actress Rani Mukerjee.

“Dreamum Wakagum Monikum,” says Dantre, struggling with the tongue-twister. “When we fumble while saying this on-air, we just laugh it off. We keep it real,” he chuckles.

Bhatnagar says the campaign, which began last week, is an incentive for people to participate in the show.

During the first week (Dreamum), the hosts fulfilled the dream of one listener every day, handing out everything from plane tickets to pets.

This week – Wakeupum – will be full of surprises.

“We have a surprise for listeners as soon as they ‘wake up’ – we might visit your home and bring breakfast or convince your boss to give you a paid day off,” explains Dantre. “Next week – Morning Superum – comes with rewards such as a weekend getaway and shopping vouchers. Get in touch with us and you will not leave empty-handed,” says Bhatnagar.

On the show, the RJS also discuss local and international happenings, and share personal experiences while keeping it fun and entertaining.

“We bring in the casual and fun part, even when reading out local news,” says Dantre.

Dantre and Bhatnagar began their careers at rival stations in India seven years ago and since then, have also dabbled in TV and dance. Dantre believes doing radio in the UAE is a unique experience because of the demographics and the close interaction they enjoy with the audience.

“People here take radio personally,” he says. “They listen to us for more than two hours at a stretch, unlike in India. And you are addressing people from several countries at the same time.”

Their willingness to meet their listeners and general camaraderie on-air has increased the show’s listenership, say the duo.

“It’s funny, when someone meets me, they want to know where Vikrant is and when they bump into him, they enquire about me – they think we are always together,” says Dantre, grinning.