'If I win today, I will not get carried away' - Ravi Shukla

Ravi Shukla the dark horse of Star Voice of India is all set to engage in a duel of melody tonight with Saptaparna in the Grand Finale. Anchor Shaan has already said that he thinks Ravi has the edge.  But a modest Ravi prefers to talk about his journey and his future plans.

How tough has your VOI journey been?
If you remember, in the Kolkata prelim round, out of nine contestants six were supposed to be chosen. So we were worried who will be left out and who will make it. But by God's grace, we all sang well and all were chosen. That sweet memory emboldened me to try harder.

Now that you in are in the final, what are your feelings?
I am quite proud to have reached here and will put in lots of effort. Having said that, I have followed only one funda in this competition. I don't aim to win, but will try my best. And luckily, both the public and the judges have wholeheartedly supported me.

How much importance do you give to X-factor?
It's very important, that you look good and feel good. But one has to also realize that if you sing badly no matter how good you look, nobody will listen to you. There have been examples of such people who have just come and gone.

If you win, you might get stuck in contract which leaves you with no time to groom yourself for the tough road ahead?
I will sit down with the channel and try to make it as better as possible. I am quite confident that they would not want to do anything which will harm my career as they already have done some much for me.  If I do win, I will not get carried away. On the contrary, I will focus more my riyaz, as I know my journey in Bollywood has just begun.

Among the judges, who do you feel the closest?
Monty of course!! His positive comments have really encouraged me. I feel bad that some judges put the contestants down.

Is public voting needed?
Don't you feel that if you only have judges, some personal bias may creep in?? The public on the whole does not do such stuff. If you do badly, they will throw you out. But yes there have been instances where contestants felt that audiences have let them down. So every coin has two sides.

What is the USP of Star Voice of India?
Without a doubt, Gajendra Singh! He has always worked hard to promote real talent.  We all know that our show has the least drama as well.

People say that you resemble Sonu Nigam in voice quality?
Yes even Sonuji and his wife had said the same thing recently. But that does not mean I ape his style, I will always have my own voice.

Everybody is hoping that Saptaparna wins as she will be the first female to lift a reality crown..
I will be very happy for her if this happens.  Either way I will be famous. Even if she wins, I will always be remembered as the guy who she defeated to win the title.

It is said that you have a strong female fan following…
I don't think so, but if you say so thank you very much. I wish to tell all my fans that I will never let you down.

Reporter and Author: Anil Merani