Rensil D'Silva: How to Make it in Bollywood Education in the Gulf ...

BAHRAIN
Puravangara
Unnikrishnan
Ruling the Air Waves in Bahrain
“In the first place you have to be a very good listener. Otherwise you
cannot reach anywhere and you also have to be open to criticism.”
Puravangara Unnikrishnan of Radio Voice in Bahrain shares his
philosophical approach to broadcasting.
by: Hemu Gorde
Puravangara Unnikrishnan could possibly be the first Indian
or even an expat in the GCC countries to have launched
the region’s maiden private FM Radio channel, but he
certainly is the first and the only one to have that distinction
in Bahrain.
Voice FM 104.2, that
went on air on November
1, 2006 is undoubtedly one
channel that binds the people
of the sub-continent, Pakistan,
Bangladesh and even Sri
Lanka together in Bahrain as
well as in the neighbouring
countries.
Three years down the lane,
Unnikrishnan, Chairman and
Managing Director of Voice
FM 104.2, says that the station
is very popular and “enjoys
the patronage of thousands of
listeners from Bahrain, Qatar,
Kuwait and the Eastern Province
of Saudi Arabia.” But what he is
also equally happy about is that
the unprecedented participation
and patronage of the listeners,
“which has given us the position
of a station that receives the highest SMS feedback from listeners
Puravangara Unnikrishnan Chairman and
Managing Director of Voice FM 104.2
across the entire GCC states.”
While there are many first
generation highly-successful
entrepreneurs in the region, it
was Unnikrishnan who ventured
into a business untried by his
compatriots in Bahrain.
He could well have started an
advertising agency or a trading
and marketing firm as a holder of
an MBA degree in Advertising
and Marketing; but that is not
the way Unnikrishnan looks at
life as he wanted to give back to
the people by bringing a smile
to their faces and binding them
together.
At 41, he recalls the year
1993 when he reached Bahrain
with dreams of becoming
a copywriter and achieving
financial security. His route to
Bahrain was typical as he came
hoping to find his dream job, but
for survival, working initially
in a construction company in
the accounts section at a junior
level.
The salary was mere BD70,
the living conditions were not
good and the prospects were not
bright but he continued working
hoping to get a suitable job in
an Ad agency or a marketing
and trading company. His hopes
were squashed when he had to
choose to continue working with
the company or become jobless,
and probably leave Bahrain
due to the labour ministry
requirements at that time.
No option left, he chose to
continue with the company.
Honest and hardworking
Unnikrishnan earned the
respect and trust of the
owners as he became
a pivotal factor in the
establishment’s growth.
He was instrumental in
making the construction
company into a group of
companies with associates
and business interests in
a number of other GCC
States. And when he left
it in 1998, with the good
wishes of the bosses
and every single worker in the
organisation, his job position was
Group Manager.
“The bosses promised my
job was available if I wanted it
back and kept the door open for
me. But as good human beings
they allowed me to do something
new in my life that excited
me.” The hundreds of workers
still admire and love him for
when they came to Bahrain
under his administration they
did not have to pay any agent
or middleman’s fees.
“This is one of the biggest
assets that I have earned in life,”
he says.
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ANNI V ERSARY
Looking back Unnikrishnan believes that strength comes from
managing the “ups and downs opf life” and a burning desire to excel.
His illustrious grandfather, P. Kurchiraman Nair, was one of Kerala’s
finest modern era poets and was known as Mahakavi P. Mahakavi (The
Great Poet) a title that is rare. On the other hand, his father was a
freedom fighter who later became active in politics and was the Kerala
State President of the Janata Party.
It was his mother who raised the family after his father’s untimely
death when he was only 10. At times things were bad. “But my mother
instilled the good qualities in me and my other siblings, and I know
how important that
is in life when it
comes to dealing
with people,” he
says.
Unnikrishnan seen receiving the Media Excellence Award
from Her Highness Shaikha Sabika bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa,
Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Women and wife of
His Majesty the King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Leaving the
construction group,
Unnikrishnan joined
Asianet TV to
become the head of
its team producing
the regular episodes
on Bahrain in 1998.
“Most people in
Kerala knew only
Dubai and Saudi
Arabia then and had
not heard of Bahrain.
The Asianet coverage
introduced Bahrain
to the people in Kerala in a big way. It also gave me the opportunity to
highlight the culture, heritage and the rich past of Bahrain—which has
a history of nearly 8,000 years. Additionally, people also learnt about
local people, the business and commerce potential and job opportunities.
I am very glad to have become a part of Asianet which helped increase
Bahrain’s tourism sector in its own way,” says the man who produced
more than 1,500 weekly episodes for the channel before setting up his
own radio station in Bahrain.
The mere mention of Voice FM, and Unnikrishnan becomes
enthused, explaining the tag line of the station: “Positive Sound”.
The idea is that we are “inundated with negative news all over on
a daily basis, be it the newspapers or the TV, and my objective is to
bring happiness to the people, in this case through music. The regular
programmes include, songs in different languages, live interactive
interviews of doctors, the labour authorities, legal experts among others
so people can ask questions and get answers. Visiting film and music
celebrities are also interviewed. This makes people happy as well as
educates them, thus creating a different world in itself. Additionally, we
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