Indian Idol 3 scouts wannabe singers from 'Indian hinterland'

New Delhi, Mar 15 (UNI) After giving to India prolific singers like Abhijit Sawant and Sandeep Acharya, the popular singing talent hunt show Indian Idol is now turning its radar to the 'Indian hinterland' in search for 'potential singing superstars'.

The third edition of the Indian Idol, the successful adaptation of the popular 'Pop Idol' show in the West, was launched by Sony entertainment television with a promise of bringing out the potential 'Kishore Kumars', 'Mohammad Rafis', the 'Lata Mangeshkars' or 'Sonu Nigams' from among the youth of the mofussil towns and cities in India.

In the forefront of the search for 'hidden singers,' among the small town youth, will be the irrepressible, effervescent and evergreen music composer Anu Malik, who has been roped in as a judge for the third consecutive edition.

However, assisting Anu in the selection process will be two judges - the 'original pop diva' and the 'Kajra Re' girl Alisha Chinai and the versatile singer Udit Narayan.

Addressing a press meet in the Capital today, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Sony Entertainment Television, Aseem Kapoor said,''In a bid to bring the best of the singing talent from, we are going for auditions in 12 cities across the country, most of them being small towns like Jodhpur, Amritsar, Srinagar, Nagpur, Baroda, Bhopal and Kanpur.'' Auditions at nine cities have already been carried out.

''The Indian Idol caravan will reach Delhi tomorrow and will carry out auditions for the next three days. Thereafter, auditions will be held in Kolkata (March 24-26) and Mumbai (March 31-April 2),'' Mr Kapoor said.

During the next three days, auditions will be held in several parts of Delhi, including Gargi College, Deshbandu College, Lajpat Nagar and Saket.

The third edition of the show will be hosted by model-turned-anchor Mini Mathur, who has also hosted the previous two editions of the Indian Idol. However, assisting her will be a new co-host Hussain, who replaces Aman Verma (who co-anchored the earlier two editions).

The winner of the show will get a recording contract with Sony BMG, besides a contract with Sony Entertainment TV, worth Rs one crore.

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