ID vs AS

The temperature on Zee TV's talent-scouting contest Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge has been rising by the week, what with the judges -- Himesh Reshmmiya, Jatin, Lalit, Aadesh Shrivastava and Ismail Durbar -- forming their own caucus of favourite students, or gharanas, as they were politely called.

But politeness was thrown to the winds during the shooting of the popular show when two of the judges lost their cool and hurled abuses, as viewers -- including producer Gajendra Singh -- gazed in horror.

"The confrontation with Ismail Durbar had been building up ever since we started judging Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge," says Shrivastava. "His (Durbar's)attitude is high-handed and arrogant and unacceptable to the other judges. He has no respect for anyone, not even for those boys and girls who come from far-flung places like Assam and Manipur with dreams of becoming singers. Ismail addresses them so rudely on camera, contestants are reduced to tears. I told him to be more considerate. But he's beyond reason," he adds.

The flashpoint reached two weeks ago during the last stint of the show's recording when Durbar made fun of Shrivastava's knowledge of classical music.

"He implied that he was the master of the ragas while Himesh, Jatin, Lalit and me were just novices who knew nothing about classical music. He forgets I'm from a musical family. I've used classically trained voices like Richa Sharma and Hema Sardesai, and used ragas in my tunes whenever possible. When Ismail made snide references to my abilities, I couldn't take it any more. I ticked him off good and proper. We'd have probably gone further in our fight but I don't come from the same background as he does. I held my peace. But we decided we would not sit on the same platform as Ismail Durbar. Thank god the camera wasn't on when this happened.

"I felt he insulted (flautist) Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia when he commented about one of his (Chaurasia's) disciples, 'Yeh sab ki bansuri bajaa dega.' Wasn't that a dig at the famous flautist? Ismail is always making such comments. His war cry, 'Yalgaar!' (attack) makes him sound like a padosi from the neighbouring mulk. I told him that. And what are his credentials? He played the violin in the third row of Jatin-Lalit's orchestra before Sanjay Leela Bhansali discovered him. His only claim to fame is Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. The worst mistake he made was to fight with Bhansali, his mentor. All his other scores have failed miserably. He bragged that he discovered Shreya Ghosal when everyone knows it's Bhansali who found her."

Aadesh is unsure about returning to judge Sa Re Ga Ma Challenge. "I have other commitments. I'm supposed to sing my own composition based on the Vedas at the opening of the Berlin Film Festival on September 21. I can't be frittering away time in fighting over lost causes. I believe in the power of a music contest like Sa Re Ga Ma to foster new singing talent for our film industry. In fact, I'm using two contestants from the show -- Himani from Faizabad and Rajiv from Chamba -- to perform a thumri in Kalpana Lajmi's Chingari. Though the soundtrack is done, I felt it wasn't complete without a thumri."

http://www.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/25ismail.htm

Jarring notes in the Sa Re Ga show

Patcy N | January 25, 2006 16:38 IST

Zee TV's Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge is neck-deep in controversy once again.

Three of the singing talent search show's contestants -- Himani, Vinit and Hemchandra -- quit. The reason cited was that they had been threatened by the outlawed militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom. But they returned to the show the next episode.

Earlier this month, Ismail Durbar, one of the judges, walked out of the television show. Because one of his students, Nihira, was voted out. The show divides contestants into gharanas, each gharana under the supervision of a judge.

"I got upset then [when Nihira was voted out], as I thought that was a wrong decision," says Durbar. "I wanted to quit at that very moment. But I was overcome with shock. And I did not want to go in silence. I wanted to quit in front of the audience, as I wanted them to know what was happening."

But when the other judges – music directors Aadesh Shrivastava and Himesh Reshammiya – gave less marks to another Durbar gharana contestant Debojit's performance, Durbar decided it was time.

He walked out of the show, saying the situation was too suffocating for him.

It was felt that the audience sympathised with Debojit and the 'injustice' done to him, and voted for him.

But now, Durbar is back, and he explains why.

"Gajendraji [Singh, the show's producer] came to my house the next morning and tried to convince me for five hours to return to the show. He told me that I was the only person who has always stood by the truth. I said I would return -- because I did not want him to suffer for no fault of his.

"Another reason was that Debojit told me that if I would quit, he would follow me, as he did not have anyone in Mumbai, and he would follow his mentor.

"I asked Debojit to clarify what was actually wrong, and the child started crying. He told me he was an engineer by profession. He worked hard to become a singer. He knew that if he quit with me, his singing career would be ruined. He also said he had no links with ULFA [Debojit is from Assam, and ULFA is an Assamese militant outfit], and that someone was plotting against him."

Does Durbar think Aadesh Shrivastava created the controversy?

"It is obvious but I will not take names for the sake of decency. I have tried telling Aadesh many times backstage."

The two music composers don't see eye to eye, and have had confrontations before.

It is not yet clear if ULFA actually threatened the contestants or not. Durbar claims Himani, Vinit and Hemchandra quit due to pressure.

"I know why they quit but I will not tell. They have quit under somebody's pressure. And the three of them told me this themselves," he says.

Incidentally, the episode after the ULFA threat drama, Himani was voted out.

"When I returned to the shoot, Himani [who was in Shrivastava's gharana] came crying to me and apologised so many times. I told her that she should take her own decisions, and not act under pressure."