From Nowhere to Everywhere

HYDERABAD: He was born in a conservative family and nurtured an unconventional career ambition. He was passionate about music and wanted to be a DJ. Despite oppostion from family, he persisted and went on to become a DJ. That's the storyline of Everywhere and Nowhere, a UK film directed by Menhaj Huda. Oh wait! that's also the real life story of city-based DJ Asif Iqbal, a faculty member and co-founder of Panache DJ School.How are DJ Iqbal and the UK film related? Iqbal has emerged as winner of the International Music Remix Competition conducted by the producers of Everywhere and Nowhere for a remix of its title track. Iqbal won the contest by securing 3,139 votes among about 700 contestants. His remix track is now part of the film. The DJ has also won appreciation from Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy for his achievement. "The chief minister is not unfamiliar with a field like DJing. He is in groove with the trend!" says a beaming Iqbal. Incidentally, Iqbal's struggle to reach where he has, is similar to that of the film's storyline. It has been 12 years since he stepped into the profession and he recalls that his first few years were full of struggles. "People's perceptions are changing. DJing is beginning to be accepted as a career option," opines Iqbal who trains youngsters at Panache. When he started, he was paid a meagre `500 for DJing at a party. Now, it has gone up to `15,000. "People often mistake DJing to be a list of songs played in some order. It has much more to it than meets the eye," he explains emphasising on the skills and the practice one requires to be good at it. One needs to interact with the audience, educate them about the songs being played, tell them who composed it and sung it and bring innovations by mixing beats etc depending on individual skill sets. "A DJ must know what genre to play where," he points out.He advises youngsters to pursue it as a career only if they are sure of devoting themselves to it. "Interest is not enough. It requires devotion. Until you are reputed, it may not even be financially viable," says Iqbal. He has signed for remix of a song for a Bollywood film in the making titled Honeymoon. He plans to enter Tollywood too very soon.