Lata to grace grand finale of 'STAR Voice Of India'

Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS) Though she has expressed displeasure about the quality of music contests on TV, melody queen Lata Mangeshkar has reluctantly agreed to be present at the grand finale of STAR Plus's 'Voice Of India' show on Nov 24.

The show's producer-director Gajendra Singh couldn't contain his excitement.

'She has agreed to give the winner the trophy. It took a lot of persuasion, a lot of perseverance. But then it's worth it because Lataji is no ordinary mortal. She's goddess Saraswati reincarnated. And to have her grace our show is the best gift I've received in my 14 years of service to the cause of music,' Singh told IANS.

Interestingly, Lataji's sister Asha Bhosle served as the guest judge on the rival music contest show - Zee TV's 'Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge' a few months ago.

'But Lataji coming on our show isn't something we planned after Ashaji came on the other show,' protested Singh. 'We've been trying to persuade her for years to come on our show. This time she has finally agreed.'

She met the 'Voice Of India' finalists at her residence during the Ganesh Mahotsav.

'Her advice to the contestants was not to copy any of the established voices. She has always said it's relatively easy to sing popular numbers, much harder to sing original numbers,' said Singh.

Seven years ago Lata co-produced STAR's 'Meri Awaaz Suno'.