Not singing for a veg supper--Article

Not singing for a veg supper

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge contestants were not allowed to eat non-veg food. It was not for a better voice but because Zee subscribes to vegetarianism

By: Shaheen Parkar

ab aur nahin, please! Raja Hasan and Amaanat Ali pic/ NARENDRA DANGIYA

The Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 battle continues even after Aneek Dhar was crowned winner of the Zee reality drama. The latest buzz is about the conditions in which the contestants were put up. It is learnt that only greens were served to the participants and it was only after repeated requests that they were allowed to consume non-vegetarian fare.
Says an onlooker, "It was really shocking to see the participants literally begging to be allowed to consume non-veg stuff. They were taken aback when they were told that the budget did not allow it. This after all the moolah that was raked in via zillions of SMS votes."
The onlooker adds, "Contestants like Raja Hasan and Amaanat Ali were observing rozas during Ramzan, so they had a desire to indulge in non-vegetarian food after breaking the fast in the evening."
It is learnt that Zee, as a policy, serves only vegetarian food. Says a source, "Even in the channel's offices, only vegetarian fare is served. It has something to do with Zee boss Subhash Chandra being a Marwari. As a result, all the contestants were only given greens."
The channel maintains that the contestants, who were put up at the channel's guest house in Goregaon, were initially provided only greens but were later allowed to dig into non-vegetarian food. Apparently it took time for things to be streamlined and a cook was hired especially to dish out non-veg fare.

Not fair

Soon after Kolkata boy Aneek was announced winner in a live grand finale held at the Andheri Sports Complex on October 13, judge Ismail Darbar opened a Pandora's box of sorts by declaring that Raja Hasan from Bikaner and not Aneek deserved to win the title. He felt that Raja was the better voice and the most popular contestant. What's interesting is that Aneek was part of Himesh Reshammiya's Rock gharana, Raja belonged to Vishal-Shekhar's Hit-It squad while the Pakistani contestant Amaanat belonged to Darbar's Yalgaar gharana.
Darbar's remarks had its echo during a Navratri show in Surat where several of the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contestants performed. The channel maintains that Aneek was warned of dire consequences, if he set foot on stage. This allegedly was done at Darbar's behest as Surat is his hometown. As a result, Aneek did not perform at the event.
Though Darbar has been outspoken all along, strangely he is now playing safe. When we checked with the composer, the reply was a terse "no comment."

Unforgiving

But the channel is in no mood to forgive Darbar and is in the process of taking legal action against him. According to Ashish Kaul, executive vice president, Zee Network, "Ismail Darbar made unprofessional and unethical statements on the show being rigged in favour of Aneek. If we wanted we could have stopped Raja Hasan as well as contestant Poonam Jadau from performing in the Surat show. But we did not do that as we are professionals and we don't believe in cheap tactics, which Ismail is using. Aneek and Mauli were unwell so they could not make it to Surat. In sheer frustration, Ismail is misleading the public and playing with their emotions."
All the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contestants are under contract with Zee for two years. Raja, who was the first runner-up has been staying in Mumbai for a while now, and the second runner-up Amaanat, who is based in Dubai apparently shuttles between the cities.

This report sounds like someone trying to cause unnecessary problems. These are matters which are water under the bridge. Forgive and forget and move on. No one is perfect. It makes it look as if the contestants were kept in a prison. As for ID this subject has been debated enough earlier. We have to move on. 😆

Originally posted by: anishma24

"Even in the channel's offices, only vegetarian fare is served. It has something to do with Zee boss Subhash Chandra being a Marwari."

😆😆😆

Maybe that's why Amanat was panting. He was deprived of meat!

How is being a vegetarian or non-vegetarian related to good singing or being a good singer?😕

Originally posted by: trishanku3

How is being a vegetarian or non-vegetarian related to good singing or being a good singer?😕

It is not hehe. Lekin khush insaan dil khol ke gaata hain. So if they were givin meat they would have been more happy and would have sang better 😉

Originally posted by: AznDesi

It is not hehe. Lekin khush insaan dil khol ke gaata hain. So if they were givin meat they would have been more happy and would have sang better 😉

I think the quantity of spice in the food could affect them so too if they use MSG.😆

Veges are good for Ghazals and Meat for Hot Numbers !😆