" I've better singing talent" Gajendra Singh
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
13:49 IST
Life has come a full circle for Gajendra Singh. For almost a decade, he was Zee TV's star producer and became a name synonymous with musical talent hunts. Just a year ago, he branched out as an independent producer and went on to launch his unique brand of new shows- Antakshari and Star Voice of India.
Much to the chagrin of his detractors, just a month after its launch, Star Voice of India is already riding the TRP charts. We met up with the media shy producer, who after a long time speaks his heart out.
There are already a number of musical reality shows already. Do we really need one more?
I've made sure that Star Voice of India format stands out as compared to what we already have in the market. This is the first time that in the first round itself, the contestants had to audition in front of a live audience. The audience comprised of not just common people, but even truck drivers, doctors or for that matter journalists.
But aren't you scared of greying your hair or playing an older character? How difficult is it to find good singing talent and how far has the show reached?
It was definitely not easy to stand up against other established musical shows. But, I believe, people have faith in my brand and by God's grave we've been getting quality contestants. None of the singers on my show have even gone for the Indian Idol and Sa Ra Ga Ma Pa auditions. We have shortlisted 32 contestants and now they'll be divided into four groups of 12. For me, its not just a show but something that I am very passionate about. There's always an emotional war on the sets between Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Jatin, Aadesh Srivastava and Lalit Pandit.
So, now what happens next?
The talent contestants will hone their talent under the guidance of these music stalwarts to compete in the Amul Star Voice of India. Now the auditions are nearing the final stages.
Critics often feel that we don't really need reality shows to find singing talent. A diamond can be spotted anyways?
A diamond needs to be polished or else it could just be lying in the garbage. In the olden days, singers had to struggle to get recognized but now here's a platform which is readily available for them.
The earlier winners haven't really got good breaks in the industry. Even eminent judges don't give them work?
Many of winners have been doing well for themselves. But see, just in a period of three or four years, nobody can create miracles. These youngsters have a spark but you cannot expect them to replace established singers in the industry. One has to climb the ladder to reach up there.
After branching out as an independent producer, have you spoken to Mr Subhash Chandra, who was really your mentor and guide?
Whatever I am today is because of Chandraji. After fourteen years of working with the company, I reached a point when I wanted to grow creatively. So, I pitched the idea of producing the shows for Zee independently. Not just these shows, but I had some more ideas. But then, I was told that they wanted to do it in-house.
Did you feel that you were undervalued and also lost out financially in the process?
It was not about money really. I was always very passionate about the formats and worked very hard on evolving them. But, somehow, I feel that after a point of time, when you are home for too long, then no one really values you.
