The youngest Radio Jockey in India, he exploded on Times FM in 1994, at the age of 14. By the time he was 23, he had bought his own apartment in Mumbai. In the three decades since, Siddharth Kannan has worked not just on radio and TV, but done voiceovers, podcasts, hosted corporate events.
He is an established influencer and has his own YouTube channel. Recently, he announced that he will be now financing start-ups.
Excerpts from an interview:
Tell us about these start-ups you are investing in…
Well, there’s a company doing VFX for films, TV and commercials, and an influencer marketing company which is into pharma brands. There’s another, driven by Edu-tech, which is related to my core strength — the voice. Since the last year and a half, I’ve been investing in people with dreams and innovative ideas. I’ve also started my own merchandise company, Angaar, which sells hoodies, T-shirts, tote bags and mugs. Since the companies have to be profitable and relevant even after five years, I have two strong think tanks who advise me.
How did this idea come to you?
While the pandemic was a period of great turmoil and being locked up was emotionally draining, it gave us time to introspect. For a long time, my friends had been urging me to start my own YouTube channel, but middle-class economic security held me back. If I did a voiceover or hosted an event, I was paid upfront. On the radio, I did one chat show a week which got me a salary at the end of the month. But you had to build a following before your YouTube channel started paying. During the lockdown, I wanted to give something back to society, so I did five Zoom sessions of two hours each, devising a curriculum related to the voice. I had around 150 students for the first session, the number doubled by the next. Some stayed back after class to discuss their ideas with me. I wanted to support a few, but back then one didn’t know where one was headed, so it was prudent to keep everything for your own.
But you did launch your YouTube channel then?
Yes, I finally decided to do something for myself rather than creating wonders for other platforms. My channel took off and escalated during the pandemic. Today, I have 1.53 million subscribers and within hours of a podcast dropping, top publications quote from it. I’m also syndicating my content to another digital platform and negotiating with an OTT platform for my old content. The money from the channel, coupled with some savings and investments, allowed me to invest in these startups.
I’ve learnt empathy from my daughters, Adhira, 8, and Saisha, 5, and this gave me the joy of giving back to society. My father says if you listen to someone and grasp even 10 percent of what they are saying, you save a couple of years of your own life. I’m evolving as a person with every podcast. In my head I’m that 14-year-old RJ again, with some life lessons thrown in.
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What got you interested in radio at 14?
It was a hobby. I’m blessed to have progressive parents who, in the ’80s, when others were telling their children to study, were telling me there’s more to life than studies. What worked for me was my natural way of speaking when other RJs had an Ameen Sayani hangover. Also, since I was only 14, I was fearless even when interviewing celebrities. The spirit of adventure took me to TV. I’d been told only gore chitte log (fair, good-looking guys) worked on TV, but Santa Banta Newz Unlimited with singer-rapper Baba Sehgal turned Zoom from a fashion channel to a Bollywood channel.
Next, I was jumping on chairs at corporate events, I still host around 15 a month. These employee and dealer meets used to be subdued, straight-up affairs. I brought in the concept of ‘15-minute energizers’, engaging the audience with music, dance, interactive gags and team engagement activities between talks with the CEO and MD. I was a rule-breaker, fearless.
Did you ever imagine you would become such a big influencer?
Never. By the time I launched my channel, the YouTube babies were in and flourishing. No regrets. Had I started earlier, my content would have been different. Since the high energy, witty host was working for me then, I’d suppressed my emotional side. But now along with the fun Sid K everyone loves, you see a softer, more soulful and spiritual Siddharth Kannan whom guests pour their hearts out to him. The two complete me and prove formulae are made to be broken.
