13th February, Mumbai: The profession of a Disk Jockey or DJ is usually associated with men in India, but one woman is working hard to change this image. Having carved out a niche for herself in the male-dominated profession, DJ Lahar, India’s most famous female DJ artist, is now looking to expand beyond India and has several exciting activities and initiatives lined up for the coming months.
DJ Lahar, who is originally from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh and is known for great and rocking shows, broke new ground when she started performing at weddings and parties instead of clubs.
“Female DJs were mostly performing in clubs, while male DJs dominated weddings and parties. I started performing at weddings and parties to fill the gap as well as to dispel the myth that they are not safe or ideal for female DJs and other women professionals. The other idea was to show that women can succeed by pushing the boundaries and that is what I have done throughout my career. I am happy that the way people look at DJs, especially women professionals, has changed for the better, and many more female DJs have started performing at weddings and other occasions,” says DJ Lahar, who originally planned to have a career in engineering.
Her experience of working as an anchor and hosting weddings, receptions, and other social functions also proved to be handy when she turned into a professional DJ. She still had to deal with societal taboos and financial issues to some extent but did not allow them to deter her from becoming a successful DJ artist. She has performed in several cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Patna, and many more. She has also performed with popular rapper Badshah and is now aiming to touch new heights in her career.
DJ Lahar is presently working on a wedding mashup and a mashup of hit songs of Bollywood actresses. She is also the brain behind India’s first female DJ band Wave Band.
“I am looking to expand my horizon this year and take up assignments outside India. In the offing are a Bollywood Carnival DJ party in Sri Lanka and a Desi Bollywood Tadka DJ Festival Party in South Africa. I am also launching India’s first Fast Track DJing Course only for girls. I am also going to release 100 remixed tracks on popular audio streaming platforms such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Gaana, Zee Music, etc.,” says DJ Lahar, who is very health conscious and performs dance and yoga to remain fit.