There are listeners and then there are readers. Nikhil Dintakurthi is from the formidable first category and now, he is trying to nudge us into the same bracket as well. And for good reason! India is already the third-largest podcast listening country and with four crore listeners in 2018 the numbers are projected to climb by 17.61 crore in 2023, as per a PwC report. The 24-year-old has been feeding audio content for at least eight years now, and since 2017, he has been feeding us his podcasts. One of the most successful Telugu podcasts he produces, UPSC Radio Podcast, is back for its fourth season. So clear up 15-20 minutes of your time every Wednesday because UPSC aspirant or not, this is the podcast for knowledge hoarders.
"What started as my brother, who is a faculty at UPSC coaching classes, and I discussing lesser-known schemes during the first season has now graduated to discussing the lesser-known aspects of the Constitution," says the Hyderabad-based podcaster. His audacious ambition is to actually try and get full-length interviews from MLCs (Member of Legislative Council), DMs (District Magistrate) and the like so that their roles could be made more clearer to the public. Exciting, isn't it?
But as we spoke more and more to this avid consumer of podcasts, we realised the in-depth understanding he has gained over the years which has enabled him to produce about 25 podcasts, nine of which are in Telugu. It all started when he was studying in Mumbai, pursuing his PG Diploma in Advertising from Mumbai University and reveling in the world of audio. The youngster got to work behind the scenes with IVM Podcasts where he gathered most of his practical experience from.
The first podcast the enthusiast hosted was called, quite bluntly, Nikhil Thinks Random Sh*t with the help of a super basic Zoom H1n Handy Recorder. "From there own, I started to freelance and produce podcasts. They bring the content, I help them figure out how to develop, edit, plan the episodes and distribute it in a way that's best for them," he says. In this way, he not only works with a media house to produce nine podcasts for them, but also shows like The Varun Duggi Show for boosts of motivation, Unburden Your Health to debunk health myths and such a wide range of podcasts that could appeal to anyone.
"In my experience, YouTube offers immediate gratification in terms of likes and comments and you understand if your content is working within two to three days. This is why the tendency to do clickbait-y content is pressing. But with podcasts, hosts are beginning to understand that they have to be in it for the long haul," says Nikhil. It's a community game, not a number game, he adds. Speaking about the Telugu podcasts space, he says he believes that, "We are now in the Puri Jagannadh format where we pick a random topic and do a story around it. We need to evolve," he presses.
Nikhil hopes to be at the forefront of that change. In the works is already a podcast with an independent journalist to create a crime narrative of sorts. He is also building a concept of digitising old books from the 1900s and 1800s into audio, pushing readers into the listeners' bracket, as we mentioned at the start. And before we could ask him more about it, he politely takes his leave. Before leaving us though, he leaves us with a little tidbit. He might start a new venture under which he will produce all his podcasts.
To know more about him check out linkedin.com/in/nikhildintakurthi
