Z ee is not sitting quiet at ex-employee Gajen- drra Siingh's attempts to be an independent producer. Both parties refuse to get embroiled into what made Siingh resign from being an in-house director for Zee after 14 long years. But the legal notice that Zee intends sending Star and Siingh for Voice of India Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa (Star Plus) is an indication that it's an open war . Siingh says he has yet to receive the legal notice; "I'm hurt. All I can think of is that they are insecure without me. My lawyers will handle it." Copying concepts? Why didn't Zee react when Antakshari (Star One) was launched three months ago? Ashish Kaul, senior vice-president, Zee Entertainment Enterprise, says, "We don't have to react when most expect us to. A legal case is not about making emphatic statements. We wanted to have a strong watertight case in hand before taking action. Star is going to find it very difficult to get out of this situation. They have given an unlawful platform to an ungrateful employee." Kaul insists that it's unethical of Siingh to have taken a team of technicians, who have grown at Zee's expense to another channel. He, however, doesn't deny that the concepts have been Singh's over the years. Insists Kaul, "But Gajendrra has no right to use a concept that was funded by us anywhere else. We are not objecting to the fact that Antak- shari and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is a generic term. But as a TV show and a TV property, these con- cepts are owned by Zee. We're fighting to pro- tect our interests." Where is the similarity in the shows? "Over the last three months, I've proof of not one but 500 similarities," says Kaul. He also objects to Siingh roping in Shaan, Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet, Jatin-Lalit and Aadesh Srivastava for Voice of India saying they've been part of Zee's shows. Are they contractually bound to Zee? "No, that's beside the point, " says Kaul. Star speak Harsh Rohtagi, general manger of content and com- munication at Star, says, "Gajendrra came to us of his own free will after quitting Zee. And the little bit we've interacted, I can vouch that he is incapable of being ungrateful. As far as the show goes, the only similar- ity is that they're both musical talent hunts. Our con- cept, show flow, presentation and elements are new and different. "Also, artistes like Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet, Shaan and the others have agreed to be a part of this only because of Gajendrra. His concepts and eye for talent is the dif- ferential factor that they all wish to be associated with." Kaul has gone on record stating that Star is aping their shows out of pure frustration of losing ratings to Zee's innovative programming. Rohtagi dispels this saying, "We are known to allocate programming according to individual strengths. Just like we'd go to Ektaa Kapoor for soaps, there's only Gajendrra for music related shows. Rest assured, there is no bankruptcy of ideas in taking such deci- sions." Zee had recently fired legal notices to Star and Siingh's Saibaba Telefilms for making two of the L'il Champs (Zee) finalists Abhrokanti and Pawney Pandey sing in one segment of Antakshari (Star One). Host kaun? While Siingh has also been in talks with Zee to make a show for them, the channel was hoping that he'd convince Shaan to host their version of Sa Re Ga. Kaul rubbishes it saying, "We're in talks with various content creators. But till an agreement is signed, nothing is consid- ered final. Let's not get into what we want- ed." Over a month ago, Zee had also announced a new season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Will singer Udit Narayan's son Aditya Narayan be the host? Kaul confirms, "Yes, though he has yet to sign on the dotted line." Even before the reality shows come on air, it seems, a real-life conflict of ethics will decide the future of these shows.
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