Former UAE radio presenter passes away in India, weeks after another iconic voice fell silent

Dubai: A former Indian expat and radio presenter in the UAE, Sunny Bernard, passed away on Monday night in the south Indian state of Kerala. He was 73.

Sunny, a well-known broadcast professional who began his career with now-defunct Radio Asia in 1997, was a cherished figure among the Indian expat community from Kerala for over 15 years.

Senior Malayalam media personality Nissar Syed recalled working with Sunny at Radio Asia. “Prior to relocating to the UAE, he had already demonstrated his talent as a voice artist through cultural organisations, including the popular Kochin Kalabhavan."

"Here, he remained a beloved voice among the Malayali expat community for more than one and a half decades. He was known for his talent in mimicking voices and his knack for cracking jokes on the spot,” Nissar said.

Deepa Ganesh, another former radio presenter and colleague of Sunny, said he had played many major roles in radio dramas and earned a large fan following across the Gulf countries.

"Apart from presenting programmes, he also worked as a voice artist for several prominent radio advertisements and was involved in writing and production," recalled Deepa, now the general manager of an advertising and events management company and a social media presenter.

The loss comes barely two weeks after the death of Sanal Potty, another iconic Malayalam radio personality who passed away on December 2 in Kochi. Sanal, who worked with Umm Al Quwain Radio, was remembered for his soft-spoken warmth and versatile media presence.

"Losing two former colleagues from the fraternity in a span of two weeks has been really painful for us," said Nissar, now chief editor of online channel Dubai Vartha.

Longterm UAE resident Youseph Sageer said: “Before coming to the UAE, I was a casual artist with All India Radio, performing light music. That helped me maintain close ties with radio channels and professionals here. I used to take part in some music programmes also. I knew both Sunny and Sanal personally, and both had exceptional voices. It is very sad to see them fall silent.”