'Failure is the only way to success' - Monty Sharma

Monty Sharma who started his musical journey at the age of five and then worked as a mere keyboard player in Mr. India has made it big today by composing melodies for Saawariya!! The man is now in charge of judging the reality show on Star Plus, Amul Star Voice of India.

Here is the singer cum judge in conversation..

How does it feel to be part of a reality show for the first time?
It is mind blowing because I don’t look at myself as a judge because I feel that we have come up in life the hard way!! Nothing was served on a platter to me. There were years when people used to never bother to even look at us. I think the tough journey all these years forces me to say that I am not here to judge these contestants.

Are you going to train the shishyas who come in VOI?
It all depends on what they want to do in future. If they want to learn everything about music, I will be more than happy to share my knowledge which I have imbibed from my grandfather. I have learned Indian and western classical in such a way that if they want to know I will share with them, but I don’t want to force any thing on them.

We heard you saying that if some contestant does not sing properly you will attack. Please explain what will you do?
My basic motto when I say ‘Attack’ is to ask the contestants to sing from their heart!! I want them to perform with the apt expression needed for the song they are singing. Suppose you are singing a romantic song, your expressions have to be romantic and so on and so forth!! So my Mantra of attack will mean ‘If you wish to do something, then don’t wait for it to happen, Go Ahead and attack it!’

Are you going to be hard on the contestants?
Well I am a soft person and I don’t like to be rude to any one. But I feel reality is reality and if someone doesn’t sing properly, I will surely point out the mistakes, but definitely not in a harsh manner.

Would you be able to take criticism as controversies have become common in these kind of reality shows?
For the past 25 years, I feel that failure is the only way to success and vice versa. I think one is born and brought up to face criticism, and I am ready for the challenge!

As we have seen many a times, audience blames the judges for talking a wrong decision, what is your take on that?
Well, I think Ismailji, Sukhwinder and I are here because of the audience. I cannot question audience under any circumstances. Let me be very clean and clear on that because audience is not one, but it is lot of people. I feel that such kind of criticism should be heard and in fact with this, I will learn more. So I am open to face all kinds of reactions…

Author and Reporter:Binita Ramchandani