As we complete #8Iconicyearsofdelhiites , we have put together an interesting story featuring eight icons of the city from different parallels of lifestyle. The illustrious list includes F & B – AD Singh, MD Olive restaurants, Auto – Amit Garg, MD Shiva motors, Music – DJ Aqeel, Jewellery – Meghali Gupta, Director Shri Ram Hari Ram Jewellers, Fashion – Shivan Bhatiya, Head Designer and Narresh Kukreja, Creative Director, SHIVAN & NARRESH, Comedy – PAPA CJ, Cinema – Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint MD PVR Ltd. and Real Estate – Yukti Nagpal, Director Gulshan Homes. Read on to know more about their inspiring journey’s so far and plans for the future.

Aqeel Ali

DJ Aqeel is India’s numero uno DJ, the stalwart of remixing in the country who has had the globe dancing to his tunes. He is an honorary Delhiite, who has reinvented the nightlife in the city and given the capital state of the art night clubs like Hype, RSVP, Agni, I-Kandy to name a few. DJ Aqeel AKA Aqeel Ali has also been instrumental in setting up a first of its kind DJ awards in the country, Delhiites Top 50 DJ’s of the year.

• When did you know you wanted to pursue DJing as a career ?
During the early days of my career, I had a lot of affinity for music. Though I was given an offer or I’d say thought to act but I wanted to do something different. I used my love towards music as a catalyst to turn my love into a passion and I started djing. Slowly and steadily after playing across venues in India, I started figuring out how amazing it was for me to make others happy with my music. I like to see it as a tool or treat to make others happy.

• What according to you has been the turning point in your career ?
My turning point would be when my track Keh du tumhe gained numbers and became one of the most trending tracks in the decade, I believe that was a booster for me. Adding to that came Ye Wada Raha and disco82 that we shot with Zayed. The way these tracks skyrocketed, was frankly unbelievable and a clear indication of what I am doing is on the right tangent for me.• What has been the biggest challenge for you as an artist in your illustrious career ?
The biggest challenge was indeed to keep the pace up. In a field that is very dynamic in the sense that music taste and flavor have evolved so much over time, it’s often difficult to keep the pace and move along. A lot of DJs I know are stuck in the same phase and they fail to identify that they need to move along with the trend, flavor, or just preference towards what people really want to listen to or dance to. I would like to add that the music industry is full of disruptive genres which keep on replacing one after the other.

• How has the pandemic impacted your business and what measures are you taking to salvage the situation ?
For our industry, the pandemic has been a detrimental phase for the whole country. Many clubs have been shut as they weren’t able to afford the so-called Pandemic phase. It came up with a huge cost and made many properties remember the end days. For me ironically, pandemic bought opportunities. I discovered a lot more about the digital world and the kind of following I had on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. We did nearly 15 shows in the pandemic on these platforms and we reached out to, I guess 10-20m people during these shows. It was magical how people were enjoying thoroughly our sets, tagging their friends and families to get them to party with us. The best part is that made me happy was many covid positive patients sent me DMs that they’d listen to my set during the quarantine and were able to entertain themselves. I would say that’s like a blessing for me. When it comes to taking measures, I am taking fewer shows now and at the same time, I am super conscious of wherever I go. I did add some terms to not allow people in the deck while playing and also to play in clubs where complete precautions were taken. I assure you, I take this very seriously.• Which factors according to you have been instrumental in your journey to becoming the most loved DJ in the country ?
The major factor for me would be to believe in what I am doing. This factor is something that a lot of people don’t follow and I have seen it in many of them. Usually, for them it’s a hit and trial method or a business of showbiz where your face would matter more than what you do, but believe me, it’s a lot more than that. The efforts we have to put in are massive, what goes behind the backstage goes unseen, and therefore for the same reason, many people believe it’s just about turning some knobs. My team works day and night when we work on a new project to come with effective ideas. So in a gist, the factors that might help would be to stay focussed, invest in yourself, and give it time and dedication to growing.

• Please tell us more about your future plans.
My future plans are full of big and new stuff, I’d say. I have taken a different turn with a new genre that I demonstrated with a show in the Taj Mahal recently. I am keeping myself very flexible with the kind of music that people are evolving too. I’d be probably traveling across the country in the coming days if everything goes alright (with COVID of course) with my new collaboration. At the same time, we’d be doing some more recorded shows across different terrains which will definitely be a new thing for the country.