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Glamour clamour on music contests

Celebs throng Sony's Indian Idol and Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

Subhash K Jha

Rivalry between the two music contests, Sony's Indian Idol and Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma is acquiring a new dimension. Moving beyond TRP ratings and the level of participants, the two contests battle it out with their glamour quotient - that is the Bollywood celebrities making an n appearance on the two shows.

A bit of overlapping is inevitable. So Mallika Sherawat who appeared on Indian Idol last week, left the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa team in the lurch when she failed to turn up.

Now Tabu who's going to be seen on Indian Idol this week, has also agreed to appear on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Funnily enough she's supposed to shoot for both the music contests this week. Good friend Himesh Reshammiya who's one of the Sa Re….judges, convinced Tabu to be on the show.

The other big names are Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra who'll be seen together on Indian Idol on February 6. Their collaborative glamour quotient is part of their deal to promote a cola brand.

Also expected on both the shows are Suniel Shetty and John Abraham. Abraham was convinced to make his presence felt on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa by Subhash Ghai who appeared as a star-judge at the grand finale.

Celebrity guests gracing the show is just part of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's grand plans in the weeks leading to the grand finale. "In fact we're in touch with other big names to join us in the finals which will be telecast live on February 24," says Sa Re Ga Ma Pa producer Gajendra Singh. The other star to be approached was Rani Mukherjee but she declined. "I love the show," says Rani. "And I'd have loved to be on it. But my dad isn't well."

Gajendra Singh sees the presence of these stars as a healthy development on the game shows. "The show gets a boost and the stars get some exposure. It's a healthy give-and-take. So why not?"

Do the stars appear on these shows gratis? "Not so far," says Gajendra Singh. "Everyone from Priyanka Chopra to Subhash Ghai to Salman Khan has been gracious enough to come on Sa Re Ga Ma free of cost. We had to pay only one star-judge. And he wasn't a film person."