Reporter, presenter Soila Kailassaari considers herself exciting, but is still often the first to throw herself into challenges.
When Sonja Kailassaari42, thrilled last fall in the glamor of the Dancing with the Stars program in the most wonderful costumes and hairstyles, many may not have thought how far she was from her actual work as editor and host of the Efter Nio talk show.
It’s nice to sit in the interview segments, but the host also throws himself into challenges that reveal the most brutal sides to the viewers.
Kailassaari has, for example, held a week of mättö food, participated in graduation essays, monitored sleep and had a colon lavage.
– Yes, my poop has also been seen on TV!
– Those who have followed the program for a long time already know quite a lot about me, including my weight, blood values and IQ, Kailassaari laughs.
Sonja Kailassaari has revealed much more about herself in public than many others. Inka Soveri
Excited for challenges
As always, the host has not regretted in retrospect whether he had to do this now.
– In the IQ test, I wonder if I will turn out to be stupid. But on the other hand, there are so many types of intelligence. You can be emotionally intelligent, even if you don’t know mathematical formulas, Kailassaari analysed.
While doing this interview, Kailassaari is completing a one-month vegan challenge. Eliminating animal products from the menu has turned out to be surprisingly challenging. Mediatalo’s breakfast showcase only offers chocolate cake and fruit for vegans.
Not all substitutes of animal origin necessarily correspond to the usual taste preferences and the body cannot immediately process them.
– My stomach can’t stand pea protein. There have been more methane emissions than from a cow, Kailassaari reveals.
Work really pushes you into life 24/7, when you have to think about challenging eating even in your free time.
– But this is also eye-opening. Realize concretely that making a change is not easy. However, because of the earth’s sustainability, we should think more about our choices, Kailassaari says.
He hosts the Efter Nio program with Janne Grönroos.
Moka is a gift. Kailassaari doesn’t stay in the middle of things. Inka Soveri
Not so serious
Although Efter Nio comes from Swedish-language Yle Fem, it has more Finnish than Swedish-speaking viewers.
– However, we have a small channel and small viewer numbers compared to, for example, Maikkari and TTK, which is sad to the extent that our good guests and discussions are not seen by many.
– However, I don’t miss a talk show bearing my own name in prime time on a commercial channel. I live in the moment and am content with what is. It’s also wonderful to do the program with someone else. Although we present ourselves, we are not in the main role, Kailassaari says, referring to Grönroos.
The enlargement of the arena in particular scared Kailassaari when she was asked about the dance competition.
– However, you are quite naked with the power of your whole body, being criticized and in a sport that is still foreign to you, Kailassaari says he thought.
However, he realized how good throwing himself off is.
– Everything doesn’t have to be so serious, dancing is a happy thing! And if the biggest fear, i.e. total forgetting of the steps, happens, you won’t die from that either.
Vulnerable
Unafraid of challenges, Kailassaari decided to dare.
And so it happened that the worst fear came true and blackout struck in the middle of the jive. However, the judges praised him for his elegant dancing, the crowd loved it, and in the final, Kailassaari pulled off the re-danced jive perfectly to the finish line.
Watching and listening to her personal swagger, it’s easy to believe that even though the woman is basically a hard worker, she gets fired up by putting herself in the middle of nowhere.
Swedish is basically spoken at Efter Nio. The basic principle is that only one of the evening’s five guests can speak Finnish. Not everyone has a second domestic partner and it doesn’t matter. Kailassaari has also learned from this that everything really doesn’t have to be perfect.
– It’s great that a person dares to be vulnerable in an unfamiliar situation, and then take care of it anyway! Kailassaari rejoices.
Sonja Kailassaari has a lot of pranksters. Inka Soveri
A long career
Kailassaari himself speaks Finnish and Swedish equally fluently. However, Sweden was his first language, Finnish came into the picture through his stepfather when he was 4 years old. He can’t say in which language he thinks or dreams, probably depending on the situation.
– And I have spoken in my dreams in both languages! But if I react quickly to something surprising, Swedish will come out of my mouth.
– I like that our program is bilingual, sometimes even trilingual, without making a number out of it.
Kailassaari has been in the media industry for 21 years. He reveals that he applied to the Theater Academy three times, but his career finally opened up through auditions for the youth magazine program Session on the Sub channel. In the daily half-hour broadcasts, Kailassaari did, among other things, artist interviews as well as fashion, event and film stories.
– Even though I’m doing a business program, entertainment is also important, Kailassaari says. Inka Soveri
Human guinea pig
Next, he hopped on the radio to do the Friday premiere movie show.
– Listeners could call in the broadcast. It was such silly entertainment, Kailassaari recalls.
– But wonderful! Besides that, viewers and listeners also need entertainment.
From radio, he moved to Yle to do a sports program called Hiki, where he not only interviewed athletes but also tested different sports. Kailassaari faced his fears already at that time by, among other things, jumping with a parachute.
– I guess I’ve always been a bit of a human guinea pig, Kailassaari himself is surprised.
He has also made, among other things, Min morgon, Operation Maata and travel programs. One of Kailasasaari’s most pleasant program experiences is Saimi and Jalmari, intended for senior citizens, where the host made the participants’ dreams come true – among other things, he took an elderly person to Linnanmäki for the first time ever.
Kailassaari has been in the media for more than twenty years. Inka Soveri
With a humble mind
Kailassaari has also hosted Voice for a year.
– I myself have wondered how the pieces have fallen into place. After high school, I have only studied life.
– The impostor syndrome strikes every now and then and I humbly wonder if I really know what I’m doing, Kailassaari admits.
The Efter Nio broadcast is always based on one topic and five interviewees. Huge amounts of ideation and groundwork are required. Kailassarari and Grönroos have a few background editors to help them.
Kailasasaari must constantly keep its senses up for potential subjects. He also goes to the library regularly to look through magazines and books.
– I just came across a book about growing tomatoes. How fascinating! Kailassaari gets excited.
Curiosity and hunger for knowledge really drive this woman forward and make her jump into the craziest adventures.
And he still has an unfulfilled dream:
– I would like my own cinema! My grandparents used to run Helsinki’s Orion. When I go there, I always think about how my grandmother sold tickets and my grandfather ran the projector.
– I’ve learned that you should say your dreams out loud. Then they might also come true.
Kailassaari dreams of its own cinema. Inka Soveri
FILM LOCATION: Wine bar Vin-Vin, Helsinki MAKEUP AND HAIR: Janne Suono / Office STYLE: Hani Haimi CLOTHING INFORMATION: Pants and beige sweater: Second Female Dots, lime and peach sweater: Katri Niskanen, pink sweater: Grace & Mila Villa Tremondo.