Jhoom India Article Arcive - Page 2

Reality television seems to be breaking new grounds. After making celebrities compete on the dance floor in shows like Nach Baliye and Jhalak Dikhla Ja and do stand-up comedy in Comedy Circus, the reality theme has now been extended to include singing as well.

Based on the format of an international show, Star on the Stage, SaharaOne's new show Jjhoom India features ten popular television actors paired with professional singers for a live duet performance that will be judged by Mahesh Bhatt, Shabana Azmi and veteran music director Anandji.

Now, while shaking a leg on stage or trying to your hand at some gags is one thing, crooning with confidence before millions of viewers is something entirely different. Any actor or entertainer could manage a power-packed performace when it comes to dancing, but exercising vocal chords calls for sheer talent. So how is it that these top TV actors agreed to croon for Jjhoom?

The idea behind Jjhoom India, according to Vipul D. Shah, MD and head of creative services, Optimystix which is producing the show, is to give an opportunity to popular television actors to showcase a different facet of their talent. "People have seen them as actors but nobody knows that they have a flair for singing as well. All of them are passionate about singing and some of them are good sin-gers too. Their reputation is at stake. If they can't sing they would not have agreed to do the show."

All the participants are putting in a lot of effort during rehear-sals. "Most of them are practicing for at least three to four hours every day while others are rehearsing for six to seven hours," informs Vipul. But isn't learning singing a different and difficult ball game when compared to dancing?

Sachin Tyagi agrees. "An absolute non-dancer can dance fairly well within two weeks of good practice. But a non-singer will need at least a few months to get into the groove of sur," says Sachin who was into singing before he took up acting.

Varun Badola has never learnt singing but feels that he has a good voice. "I have not been singing for the past 11 years but I have a knack for it. though I had two left feet when took part in Nach Baliye, I did fairly well. I think nothing is easy. You need to be passionate about what you are doing," he says.

Chavi Hussain too is a fairly good singer who had even taken part in Antakshiri before she made her acting debut on TV. "I had learnt singing as a child and though I have not sung for the last seven years, I am a very passionate singer. Of course live singing is difficult but I am going to give it my best shot," she says. Roshni Chopra too is gung-ho about Jhoom India. "It's a great concept. I am blessed with the gift of music and it's a great opportunity for all the participants to show a different aspect of their talent and personality. The competition is quite tough but I am having great fun," says Roshni who also plays the guitar quite well.

However, the tough part of the competition doesn't end with singing. Remaining in the competition itself is a struggle, no matter how good you are. While viewers get to vote for their favourite jodis, the catch is that only three jodis who get maximum votes will walk into the next round. The third best jodi will pick the fourth best, and so on till the one jodi which remains gets eliminated every week. "It's a really smart strategy. But I hope the best singer and entertainer wins," says Roshni. Chavi feels if you are not in the top three then your fate is entirely in hands of the co-contestants and they can vote you out if they perceive you as a threat. But Varun says the brief given to them is to encourage good singing. "I hope all the participants will stick to it and refrain from voting out a good singer."

http://www.deccan.com/TV%20Guide/TV%20GuideDescription.asp#B ottoms%20up%20for%20Ranbir

Talking about Jjhoom India, a little bird told us that four singers, Kailash Kher, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Sonali and Roop Kumar Rathod who are a part of 9X's Mission Ustad had been approached for the show. In fact, Kailash had even shot an episode with them but later backed out. Maybe, the idea of pairing with an actor did not go down well with these professionals.