Antakshari moves to Star
Gajendra Singh has moved with his popular music talent hunt shows from Zee to its rival channel
Subhash K Jha
Line-of-control: Host Shaan with all the judges of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2006
The 14-year old relationship between music-scout Gajendra Singh and his parent channel Zee has ended on a bitter note with Singh moving bag, baggage and creativity to Star.
This latest acquisition in Star's TRP-purchasing scheme has been on in the last few weeks even as the channel heads were busy finalising Shah Rukh Khan to take over Kaun Banega Crorepati.
Says a Star channel source, "We've been eyeing Gajendra Singh for a very long time. His shows Antakshari and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and its offshoots like Li'l Champs, have been Zee's USP for a long time. Getting Gajendra was a master-stroke. Unfortunately he was reluctant to make the move earlier."
According to sources, the final straw for Gajendra Singh was when his new brain child Cine Stars (projecting new acting talent) was taken away from him without his knowledge. "Gajendra had to read in the newspapers that he wasn't producing Cine Stars. Earlier too, he wasn't informed when the telecast timing for Li'l Champs was changed to accommodate a new soap. Also, Zee has been innovating in regional languages with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in Marathi, Bengali, etc without consulting Gajendra. He couldn't take the blows to his self-worth any more."
Star is jubilant as it feels it has cut into Zee's base viewership with one swift move. However there's a problem awaiting Singh-song's move into Star's orbit. Zee holds the copyrights of his flagship shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Antakshari. The latter has been off the air for two years now.
Gajendra Singh refuses to speak against Zee. But the hurt is evident when he talks about his 14-year-old association with the channel, during which he discovered striking singing talent and gave Zee its only steady TRP-booster.
Says Singh, "I wouldn't like to take the credit for the success of either Sa Re Ga Ma or Antakshari. Instead I'd like
to thank Zee for giving me a platform. However it was time for me to move on. I'm looking forward to working closely with Star now." Gajendra Singh
Apparently the shift has been made worth Gajendra Singh's while. His pay packet at Star isn't comparable with Shah Rukh's for KBC. But it's about double of what Zee had been paying Singh all these years.
Says Singh, "Star is giving me ample scope to innovate. Regarding what kind of shows I'll be producing for Star, all I can say is, audiences will get what they expect from me."
Steps are being taken to revise Gajendra Singh's flagship shows on Zee into a profile that would be legally acceptable to both parties. "However, I won't be an employee of Star. Instead I'm starting my own production company Sai Baba Telefilms Pvt Ltd. This company will produce my music shows for Star."
Gajendra Singh goes on air with his show at the end of January 2007 at about the same time as KBC. "KBC is Star's first priority right now. But I'm glad to see their enthusiasm. Firstly, I've decided to revive Antakshari in a new concept and format." Apparently most of the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa team including anchor Shaan and the resident music directors on the show, are ready to join Gajendra Singh at Star with his new shows.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
