Who has the edge?

The grand finale of Zee's Sa re Ga Ma Pa to be held tonight, will decide who will win the 'Challenge'. So far, all the three singers — Aneek, Amanat and Raja — have been regarded as extremely talented. But which one of them is cut out to carve a niche in the world of playback singing? Here's what the maestros think...

Anand Raj Anand, music composer
If we look at their versatility, Aneek has the better chances of becoming a playback singer. But if you ask me to pick my favourite singer, then all of them are special for one quality or the other. Amanat is soft spoken and exhibits his talent all the time but he is not smart. Raja is smart. Aneek, on the other hand, has both these qualities. the channel has now made them heroes of sorts. If one of them is a Shah rukh then the other two are Hrithik and Abhishek. But the show can have only one winner. The fact that they have come so far shows that they have talent. The channel should now make an effort to recommend their names to music directors, as I think that's the only way music directors will listen to them. Winning is not important, remaining a winner is. Bring back all the winners on the same stage ten years later and then see who stands where, with their ten years of singing experience. Only that competition will show you who the real winner is.

Ismail Darbar, music director

To me, Amanat is already a winner, not just because he is my prot?g? but also because of his singing prowess and range. Aneek and Raja are both good, but Aneek will take a few months more to evolve as singer and become a mature person. Raja's only problem is that he has a Sukhwinder Singh-kind-of-voice and sadly he has entered when the original is still around. But Amanat has proved that he can sing everything from classical to pop.

Vishal Dadlani, Music composer
To me, all three are already winners. This time, the level of excellence has been very high even by Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's past standards. The top 12 this year were fabulous. It does not matter who wins, for ultimately it's all about luck and hard work. but the best part this year is that all three of them have already begun to sing for big names like Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.