Star to recreate magic of 'Sa Re ...'

New Delhi, May 14: Close on the heels of Zee TV's launch of global edition of the 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge', rival channel Star is all set to make its foray into the singing talent hunt reality show arena with 'Voice of India', a show based on ''pure music rather than the performance or glamour aspect''.

''Star Voice of India', which goes on air on Star Plus tomorrow, will see some of the powerhouses in the field of music in the country like Alka Yagnik, Jatin Pandit, Lalit Pandit, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Aadesh Srivastava glean the ''singing sensation of the country'' from among 32 yet undiscovered talented singers from various parts of India.

Conceptualised by TV's man of music, Gajendrra Siingh, creator of some of the biggest music based shows like 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa', 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge' and 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, 'Star Voice of India' is an attempt to scout from the nook and corner of the country ''real musical geniuses'' rather than ''handsome or stylish boys and girls possessing some knack in singing''.

''Our sole focus in 'Voice of India' will be to choose boys and girls with a firm grounding in music unlike many other shows where the looks or style of the contestant mostly form the basis of their emerging favourites of the audience or the judges.

''Our criterion of judging the contestants will be 100 per cent music and not the performance aspect,'' playback singer Abhijeet said on the eve of the premiere of the show, to be aired every Friday and Saturday from 2200 hrs to 23 hrs pm on Star Plus.

According to singer and Music director Aadesh Srivastava, 'Star Voice of India' seeks to bring to the audience pure music at a time when most of the songs are ''more noise and less voice''.

The show will be hosted by Shaan, prolific playback singer and inimitable host of many music reality shows.

''The sole focus of the esteemed judges on the show will be to look for real musical talent rather than a ''television friendlines''. I feel it is good singers that form the mainstay of the show,'' Shaan said.

The 32 finalists are being selected through countrywide auditions held in the six heartland centres of the country - Kolkata, Mumbai, Indore, Delhi, Jaipur and Lucknow.

The auditions, which began in Kolkata on April 29 and will culminate in Lucknow on May 18, saw the panel of judges select the finalists through rigorous city auditions and exciting ground events. ''There has been an overwhelming response to the city with the number of aspirants far exceeding our expectations,'' Gajendrra said.

''The response at the auditions has been simply overwhelming. At many places, including Delhi, people have been coming in thousands and selecting talented singer from among so many ''musically gifted'' people is an onerous task,'' music composer Lalit Pandit said.

Also, for the first time ever, talent from each audition city will get opportunity to perform live in their respective cities at exciting ground events even before the show goes on air. ''Effort have been made to include in the auditioning potential singers from rural areas near the audition city so as to provide a chance to as many persons as possible to display their singing potential. Infact, we have made sure that even if, say, 3000 people come for auditions, they can be accommodated,''Gajendrra said.

To make the selection process transparent, the auditions are being held in open air.

''Further, a panel of judges formed from among the common people in every auditioning city has been guiding the esteemed judges in the auditioning process,''Gajendrra said.

The 32 finalists will then be whittled down to ten based on the votes by the judges on the show. The final winner from among these ten will be selected based on the votes by judges and viewers SMSes which will both carry equal weightage.

Gajendrra Singh, who is producing the show under his production outfit Saibaba Telefilms as well as directing it, says what makes 'Voice of India' different from the other music reality shows is its unique and innovative format.

''All the talent hunt shows that I have produced since 1993 have had something new about them. The same applies to the 'Star Voice of India' which too will have a unique format. For example, unlike many similar shows on other channels where viewers SMSes decide the outcome of the contestants from the very beginning, viewers SMSes will decide the fate of contestants only in the final stage where one winner has to be chosen from among ten talented artistes chosen by the judges.

Even then, an equal weightage in the final rankings will be given to the judges votes. This has been done to lend transparency to the selection process,''Gajendrra said.

Added Abhijeet,''Right from the auditioning at various parts of the country to selection of 32 finalists to choosing the final ten, our endeavour as judges will be to ensure that we choose the ten best singers of the country. It is only after that the viewers SMSes come into play to decide as to who is the best among these ten.'' The launching of the show comes close on the heels of Zee launching the Global editions of the 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge' where participants have been drawn from various parts of the world, including neighbouring Pakistan.

UNI