Dj Prashant spills the beans

With an industry that is pretty over-saturated with talent, it can be somewhat difficult for a DJ to stand out but not in this case. Dj Prashant stands out effortlessly because of his charming personality, of course not to mention his DJ'ing skills and his infectious choreography.

It's always exciting to interview him, so lets get started!

Dj Prashant, Seattle nightlife, Nightlife in Seattle, Bollywood nights, PK Interview

Q1. How would you describe your incredibly successful journey of 4 years ??

Dj: Amazing & beyond my wildest dreams. Through this journey I have found that dreams are limited by our minds imagination but truth is not.

I quit Intel 6 years back to return to India & compete in Indian Idol (Indian version of American Idol). Little did I know then that I was going to be able to share this music & dance with so many people across the United States & make a career out of it right here.

Q2. I have seen you perform so many shows back to back in Seattle & Portland, what is the secret of your high energy level??

Dj: I sleep well, workout regularly, eat healthy & do it (perform) for love, these are the things I do to maintain my mind & body... as for why I do what I do once the music starts playing, it's as much a mystery to me as anyone else.

It's like a light switch inside me turns ON the moment music starts playing.

Q3. You attend silent meditation courses and yoga workshops, Please do share more about your spiritual side?

Dj: A lot of people in my profession turn to some kind of drug to keep them going. Yoga & Vipassana (Insight Meditation) are my drugs of choice along with Chai of course. :)

These practices are not affiliated to any religion, they are completely non-sectarian & open to everybody from all walks of life. This is important for me because "inclusiveness" is a core value & also at the heart of brand Jai Ho!

While I don't practice Yoga & Vipassana to become a better artist, it doesn't hurt that this is a natural side effect of practicing mindfulness.

I highly encourage everyone & anyone reading this to make time to cultivate inner peace.

Q4. You are being invited to perform nation wide, How different it is to perform in new cities with unknown crowd?

Dj: I feel honored to have taken Bollywood music & dance to places in the US that otherwise may not have experienced it. I have found out that there are places in the US who are completely unaware of Bollywood. So have to tailor my performance for each of these performances carefully curating a DJ set & dance lesson/performances for my audience while keeping the show authentic to my vision.

It feels great when the feedback is "I want to learn this dance", "I want to watch Bollywood movies" or "Where can I find this music". I feel like I have done my job well when these comments come through.

Q5. What are your plans and expectations for the year 2015?

Dj: For me 2015 is all about "incremental innovation" in my 3 focus areas Singing, Dancing & DJ'ing.

All of 2014 I took twice a week singing lessons which I continue to do in 2015, now my singing teachers are pushing for me to record so expect some music come your way. I will be starting with covering Bollywood tracks.

I plan to make more "learn to dance" bollywood videos, we started with Bollywood Thriller last year & have received compliments from all over the world, people asking me for the music as they have been practicing the dance & would like to perform it.

Since 2009, I have uploaded my dance music DJ sets to soundcloud & YouTube which are loved by people across the globe. I plan to do this more regularly in 2015 dabbling into various genres within Bollywood.