The grand mehndi and engagement party of Mukesh and Nita Ambani’s son, Akash, with Shloka Mehta, had a strong Calcutta connect — DJ Vicky, who played on both occasions at the Ambani residence, Antilla, in Mumbai last week. t2 chatted with Vicky, the owner of nightclub Myx. 

Congratulations on playing at Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta’s mehndi and engagement party! How did it all happen?

I had played at the wedding of Isheta Salgaocar, Mukesh and Anil Ambani’s niece, in Goa two years back. I have also played at other high-profile weddings and about a couple of months back, I was approached to play at the Ambani event. I played at the mehndi ceremony and engagement party held on the first two days. 

What was the mood at the mehndi and the engagement party?

Mehndi was a total family affair, so I kept the mood fun and peppy with classic tracks like Mehendi hai rachne wali, Nach de ne, Say na, say na and Tenu leke. Tareefan, Rock the Party and tracks by Badshah were the most requested songs. 

How would you sum up your experience of playing at Antilla, the Ambani residence?

This is one of the most high-profile weddings that I have done till date. It was class-meets-grandeur with some of the biggest Bollywood stars in attendance. It makes me immensely happy that a Calcutta DJ was called to play at their function though there were many DJs in Mumbai. Definitely memorable for me. 

What makes you the chosen one for private events and A-list weddings?

I take a lot of requests and dedications, so I am more connected with my client as a friend than as a professional DJ who is just coming to play for money. I prioritise the personal satisfaction of the client. If somebody is happy with my work at their wedding, they will get in touch with me again when someone else in the family is getting married. 

Do you have a pre-gig ritual when you play at high-profile weddings?

No! I do my ritual every morning when I leave the house, sit in the car and walk down to the mandir… I pray. I never do a background research and play a set because when I meet a client and talk to them, I understand what genre would work well for that crowd. 

One thing a DJ must not do at a private event?

Definitely not be rude and stern with your guest. Also, not be too talkative on the microphone and talk shit. 

What should an ideal playlist have at a sangeet, mehndi, after-party and pool party?

The sangeet playlist should be more of Bolly-retro remixes along with New-Age songs because it is the event where people of all age groups are there. Mehndi is about more mellow and traditional music which is groovy but not too pumped up. The craze nowadays is the after-party, where the music is more EDM and hip-hop with 70 per cent international hits and 30 per cent Bollywood. For sangeet, it is 80 per cent Bollywood and 20 per cent international hits. 
Sundowners or pool parties are also popular; they are more fun where water and rain dance are the main elements. The playlist is more commercial, uptempo and old-school songs like Subha hone na de, Bachna ae haseeno.

What has changed in music over the years?

Nightclub-wise, a lot has changed. Back then trance and hip-hop used to be the main genres and now it has become very Bollywood. People used to understand music so well, there used to be one category of crowd. But now it’s divided… you have hip-hop, Bollywood and then EDM. 

And the girl-guy ratio of the crowd used to be perfect; it was a big thing for stags to enter a nightclub!

You have been a DJ for 22 years and you have always said that you are a DJ first and a club owner later…

Yes, even today I prefer being the DJ in Anticlock (The HHI), rather than being the owner of Myx. Those days were golden. I have lived the best 10 years of my life in Anticlock and we used to play till 7 in the morning with a packed floor! DJing has always been my first love and to be honest, we opened Myx for my love of DJing and music. 

Who: Vikram Metharamani, better known as DJ Vicky
DJ diary: Was the resident DJ at Anticlock and Winning Streak (1996-2005). Owns Myx, the nightclub on Park Street 
Destination weddings played at: Antalya (Turkey), Mykonos (Greece), Prague (Czech Republic) and Ras al Khaimah (UAE)