PUNE: Restaurants and bars in the city are bringing back their resident DJs to entertain patrons after Covid restrictions were eased and operation timings extended.
Without any income for the most part of the past 18 months, the DJs are happy to get behind the console. Vikram Vaghani, also known as DJ Vaggy, said, “The bars and clubs are under financial pressure, but have managed to set aside a budget for DJs. Though it is 50% of what it used to be during the pre-Covid times, something is better than nothing.”
With the current 10pm closing time, the DJs get an hour or so to actually perform because crowds start coming in after 9pm.
“As a result, bar and club owners feel that the reduced fees for the DJs are justified. Before the pandemic, when the closing time was 12.30-1am, the DJs used to get a good 3-4 hours to perform. This would justify 100% of their fees,” he said.
Yogesh Patil, popularly known as DJ Dustin, said, “If you feel that the deadline is early, the only way to deal with it is to start the party early too. Patrons are understanding and coming in earlier to enjoy the weekend gigs. Though we are uncertain about a third wave, venue and event managers are taking extra precautions.”
He said, “Dance floors are out of bounds. The party scene is expected to pick up after Ganeshotsav. We hope that we won’t have to experience another New Year party, where we had to wrap up by 10pm like last year.”
Abhinav Girdhar, aka DJ Faith, said, “Many DJs have been brought back to work on a commission basis where they earn a certain percentage of the total sales that they can bring in. Many people are also going bar hopping, distributing business among bars and clubs and increasing footfalls. The DJs are also getting outstation invitations from cities such as Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Indore where there are less restrictions and nightlife is almost back to the pre-Covid times.”
A bar owner from Aundh, said, “We have been inviting DJs back for the last two-three weeks, and were getting by with readymade playlists before that. It has been our patrons’ demand to get the DJs back.”
Another bar owner from Koregaon Park said, “Our resident DJ has a fan following and is taking the effort to engage with the community virtually and encourage them to come over, resulting in a boost in footfall and business.”
