I have finally achieved something in life: Aditya Swamy

Aditya Swamy started his career with Coca-Cola and later entered the entertainment industry in 2006. He is now with MTV, India. He joined as the channel’s marketing head but climbed the ladder to become the business head. Aditya is a simple man with great thoughts and he is currently cherishing his new achievement of making Independence Rock XXVI (I-Rock) bigger and better. In an exclusive t?te-?-t?te with Tellychakkar, Aditya talks about MTV’s shows, VJs, deadly duo Raghu-Rajiv and more. Excerpts from the interview… What brought you to the world of music and entertainment? When I was 14, I used to watch a lot of international rock shows and music. I wondered if I could ever be a part of these shows. I dreamt of organizing such shows. That gave me a nudge and here I am several years later seeing one of my many dreams come true. We are taking MTV Independence Rock to the next level. The show will finally be aired live on MTV and VH1. This is something I wanted to do since a long time. Thanks to Farhad Wadia (Head of Independence Rock) for giving me this opportunity. I can finally say that I have achieved something in life. Tell us more about Independence Rock XXVI. Independence Rock is completing 26 years now. It’s a platform where people get exposed to different genres of music. This year we are going national wherein six out of 40 bands from all across India will perform live in Mumbai on 27 November 2011 at Andheri. These six bands selected by audience votes will play to win the contest. Bands like Parikrama, Zero, Pentagon, among others have emerged from the dais of I-Rock. What are your business and promotional strategies for MTV? Time to time we have come out with varied innovative marketing campaigns, the latest being ‘auntie corruption squad’. The initiative is getting enormous response on different social networking sites. Furthermore, we have mobile mtv.com where people can listen to any and every type of music. We try to cater to the youth brigade of India and accordingly chalk out marketing plans. Coke Studio is over. Unplugged is on. What’s next in the pipeline? Coke Studio did a great job and Unplugged is also doing well. Next big thing is Roadies season 9. Auditions are just over and the show will go on air in January. Splitsvilla season five will also go on floors soon. What is new with Roadies this year? We do something different every year. This year the show will be based in the United States. You will see Roadies travelling to Las Vegas, New Jersey, Chicago, Hollywood and many other places. It is going to be real treat for the viewers. How is your equation with the deadly duo Raghu and Rajiv? Deadly duo! (Laughs) I have great rapport with Raghu and Rajiv. They are not so strict in real life. They are very humble and good-natured. However rude they sound on screen they are humans in the end. It is great to be around them. What do you think about MTV VJs? We have the best VJs in the country. Rannvijay is very talented and intelligent. He is very fit and focused. He is also doing movies now. Furthermore, there is no other face like Bani on television industry today. You have seen Nikhil Chinappa over the years and everybody knows he is the best. Everyone else is also making their presence felt in the industry. It’s all going great. Finally, what’s your take on the current scenario of Indian television? Indian television has grown a lot in every aspect. Be it fiction or non fiction, TV industry is growing rapidly. I don’t follow daily soaps much but do watch a lot of movies and nowadays I am watching Bigg Boss season 5. It is the most talked about show in industry currently. So, according to me Indian television industry is doing great.