Reality shows, arena for new Bollywood talent: Mahadevan

Mumbai, Nov 1 (UNI) Reality singing competitions are good hunting grounds for music directors searching for new talents, renowned Bollywood music director and singer Shankar Mahadevan has said.

''These reality shows not only provide platforms for undiscovered talents from smaller towns, but we as producers also get a live audition in our living rooms to spot the best singers who may not be the eventual winners. I make it a point to watch them whenever I get the opportunity,'' Mahadevan yesterday said at the pre-concert brief for his upcoming ''Samanvay'' concert here.

Talking on the Bollywood influenced commercial Hindi-pop and Indian classical music markets, Madhavan, a trained Carnatic classical vocalist said it was difficult to compare the two genres.

''We can't compare the music of say, ''Rock On'' with an Indian classical piece. But the latter has an audience not only in India, but at a global level. We (Ehsaan-Shankar-Loy trio) try and incorporate elements of classical music, even in our fast paced songs, since pop music is based on the grammer of classical music,'' Mahadevan said.

The singer will hold the first ever ''Samanvay'' concert with noted Hindustani vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan at the Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi auditorium tomorrow.

Speaking on the concert, Mahadevan said, ''Our repertoire will be a combination of Hindustani and Carnatic styles with each singing the raagas in his own style. This is a spinoff of our attempt to address Indian classical music to more and more Indians and we hope to see a lot of youngsters there.'' UNI ZC SR BDP HS0914