Aditya Narayan: "I am where I am because of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa!"

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has left no stone unturned to entertain the masses with distinguished concepts in each of its season. Having been associated with the show for over 9 years, ace singer Aditya Narayan spills some beans on what he plans to bring to the table in its 5th season.

Every season, I definitely try and bring something new and different to the table. This is my 5th season as the host for SA RE GA MA PA and my association with them is over 9 years. What we have in mind for the season is retaining a bit of the old and bringing in elements that are fresh. My main focus is to bring out every contestant's story to the nation and the viewers all around the world. All of them have inspiring stories of making it so far in life and it feels great to hear their stories. 

I was an 18-year-old boy who had just come back from London with a Diploma in English and Contemporary Music. I was thinking about what to do and suddenly this humongous show landed in my kitty. So with just one audition, it all clicked with the creative team of SA RE GA MA PA. Having pioneered the space of singing based reality television, the show has sustained its popularity and dedicated viewer base over 21 years. It has been a great learning experience. Over the years, I have tried and kept my hosting as real, instinctive and natural as possible. 

They are phenomenal! I don't know how our country manages to produce such good singers. We've had extensive auditions across 14 cities. Then we handpicked the best who made it to the mega auditions in 3 major cities Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. We called 100 contestants to Mumbai and for the first time, the mentors Mika, Sajid-Wajid and Pritam Da had the help of a panel of 30 jury members to select the Top 12. These jury members are extremely special because they represent different aspects of the music industry. They are specialists in their own arena and have helped us get only the best of the lot! The Top 12 is a diverse lot of people from starkly different backgrounds while you have Jagrpreet - a visually impaired young man from Canada whose singing makes him a hit with the ladies back home, on the other hand, you have Shaheen - a bar singer from Delhi, who is dying to be heard' rather than watched' while she sings. 

We have Sachin Kumar, sweeper's son who has strived hard to even manage the travel fare to land up at the auditions of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Hashmat- Sultana, a sister duo who are poles apart in their styles yet sing beautifully in unison and Tanveer, an extremely talented qawwali singer who worships Salman and sports his Tere Naam hairstyle. So, we look forward to yet another season packed with brilliant singing a journey where these raw diamonds are polished into emerging as singing stars of tomorrow. 

I would say I am really fortunate to have had such an exposure to the world of music and entertainment from my early days. My intention has never been to only work but to learn' something new every day. I am still in my 20's and I have a long way to go. I am trained under Kalyanji bhai. I guess as a child, I missed out on spending a lot of time with my parents. It is not only because I was working but both of them were also working. I come from a family where my grandfather was a farmer, a very average middle-class family where father and I used to stay at my mother's maternal house. My dad has really made this entire empire'on his own steam. 

Soon but my lifelong dream is that my father sings for me once when I'm acting in the film. So let's see when that dream comes true! 

Honestly, all of them have been my mentors and they are fantastic at what they do. I am working with Mika paji and Sajid-Wajid for the first time which has been amazing and I have already worked with Pritam Da which has been a great journey till date. They are all magicians of music. 

Not at all. They all are my friends and we do a lot of masti. The tomfoolery and pulling my leg is all in a very healthy zone. This is my show and I have to make sure that the 3- 4 months we are together, we have a ball and make memories for all of us to fondly remember. 

I had already signed a film before the shoot of SA RE GA MA PA but it was a multi starrer and there were date clashes. SA RE GA MA PA was clearly my priority, so I just couldn't turn my back to this show. Soon my album called Mohabbat will be releasing and I hope to announce it on SA RE GA MA PA. So that is something that I am very excited about as it's my first album with my band and also because I have composed and written half of the album.

Well said Aditya!