ACCLAIMED broadcaster and BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Nihal Arthanayake considers himself a storyteller, someone who is neither afraid to shake things up nor bothered by trolls even if he ends up rattling the system. Counted among the UK’s top broadcasters, Arthanayake is close to be being a household name. Known for bringing in-depth interviews each week with the biggest names in entertainment, culture, politics and the arts, Arthanayake recently sat on the other side of table with GG2 Power List for a candid conversation where he talked about his growing up years, his habit to call out on wrong things and his passion for storytelling. “I was born in Es sex in 1971 to a family of Sri Lankan heritage. I was one of the very few Asians in my school. Growing up in a place where I did, which was very white, had a great effect on me.
Those years taught me a lot about sticking up for myself.” Arthanayake started his career in the music industry as a rapper, going by the name of ‘MC Krayzee A’. “By the time I was 23, I had signed record deals but by the time I turned 25, I had transitioned to journalism, starting with public relations (PR) work in the music industry. I al so have been a DJ and per formed in countries like Bangkok, Singapore, Zimbabwe and Nairobi. “For PR, I worked for Elton John, Lionel Richie and lots of American rap pers. I was one of the very few brown faces and I re ally appreciate music business figure Shabs Jobanputra for giving me my first job in the music industry,” he recalled. By the time Arthanayke got to radio, he was already 31. He and DJ Bobby Friction were given a show called Asian Beats on the BBC. “We joined in October and by the following summer 2003, we won the prestigious Sony Gold Award for Best specialist radio show,” he said.
Arthanayake went on to present the BBC Radio 1 Asian Beats show on his own, Weekend Breakfast shows, Weekend Afternoons shows, The Radio 1 Review and the multi-award winning BBC Asian Network Morning Phone In show. Among his popular shows was Nihal for the BBC Asian Network, a phone-in show which covered political and social topics for the British Asians. Lately, he has been presenting a day time show on Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 1 Review Show. Back in November last year, Arthanayake created quite a stir when he said at a journalism diversity conference that an overwhelmingly “white” working environment in BBC was affecting his mental health. His statement was met with an immediate and aggressive backlash. Arthanayake, however, remains unfazed and was somewhat glad that his statement got such a reaction. “American feminist Gloria Steinem once said, ‘the truth will set you free. But before that, it will p**s you off’. And I p***ed them off for sure.
But I told the truth. And my truth was that as an Asian, working for a company that needs to be diverse, it was not representative. And that began to make me feel lonely and isolated which affected me and my mental health.” His declaration made him a target for trolls, both on social media and in the real world. Also at the same time, a huge number of people got in touch with him to tell him that is how they felt a lot of the time too – isolated and unique when actually society was far more diverse than what was in a big room with you at any one point of time. “Largely, it was middle aged white men who were the angry ones because they never had to face something like this ever. They don’t know what racism feels like. They were calling me anti-white racist.
“It is without question the most important thing I have ever said because it got a conversation started on a massive scale,” he said. “When I see something that I think is not right, I call it out. They don’t want to see people of minority or even women in positions of power. They want things to remain exactly as it is. And when people like me come along and call out things, they get super defensive,” he said. Arthanayake’s interviews are available on Radio 5 Headliners Podcast. Collectively, he has talked to hundreds of celebs from various walks of life.
“Through these interviews, I feel challenged, influenced and inspired. I am curious and try to understand everybody’s take. My Headliners podcast has over 500 names from Matthew Mc Conaughey, Ricky Gervais, Sally Field, Priyanka Chopra and many more. I don’t think there is anyone else who has got such a comprehensive catalogue of interviews on radio,” he said. He also does a podcast for Penguin Books where he talks to its biggest authors. As an adept conductor of public conversation, Arthanayake has spilled out the secrets behind the art of successful communication in his book Let’s Talk: How to Have Better Conversations. Revealing the reasons about writing this book, he said, “Back in 2016 with Brexit and other issues, everybody seemed to be shouting at each other and nobody was really listening or even talking in a civilised way. People had stopped agreeing to disagree in a civilised manner.
And social media made it worse. Around the time, I was getting feedback from my listeners that they like my interviews because I actually listen to my guests. “I found that odd because I don’t think one should be complimented on doing something that is the bare minimum. So I thought, let’s write a book about the art of conversation, because I am a professional conversationalist. I am an Olympian, when it comes to conversation because I do that a lot.” He feels that his book is more relevant now and everyone that should read it before engaging in any political discourse this year. “In 2024, 4.2 billion people are going to vote globally. Everyone should read it, if we don’t want to end up being more divided, angrier, more frustrated and more resentful by the end of this year,” he told the GG2 Power List 2024. Arthanayake is a passionate storyteller and wants to continue in the same vein. “I have got a second book that I’m writing which has to be delivered by September. (The comedian) Romesh Ranganathan and I have been talking about doing some raps together recently so that just might happen. I like to tell stories. I get to tell it through podcasts and through radio.”
“I am flying one day. I might crash the other day. And even if I crash, I will work on how to grow my wings again,” he concluded.