MUMBAI: Television producer Gajendra Singh, who pioneered the concept of reality musical shows on television with 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' and 'Antakshari' on Wednesday defended such shows saying they have served as a platform to bring singing talent to the fore.
Addressing a press conference here to announce the launch of the second season of 'Voice of India' on Star Plus, Singh claimed all the singers are doing well for themselves. "Nobody becomes an icon at the first instance," he added.
Singh said he has succeeded with the objective of promoting quality singers with his shows like 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' on Zee TV, 'Voice of India' and 'Chote Ustad' on Star Plus.
He said youngsters from all across the country have adapted to speaking Hindi because of musical reality shows on television.
Speaking about the second season of Voice of India which begins from July 18, Singh said he has brought in a new format where 24 participants from 24 states will vie for the top honours.
He said the idea was not to divide the participants on basis on their home states, but to pick the best from every nook and corner of the country.
Singh said the judges will have equal weightage in deciding the winners. "Public opinion is important but judges will do the balancing act to ensure that injustice is not meted out to genuine singers," he added.
However, the finale will have 100 per cent public voting, he added.
Music composers Monty Sharma and Sukhwinder are making their debut as judges on the show. The third judge is Ismail Durbar who was the judge of the last season of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' on Zee TV.
"We are here to pick the best talent. Abhas Joshi, last season's participant of Voice of India has sung a couple of songs for me recently," Monty said.
To a question on why male voices to popular numbers are still that of Shaan or Sonu Nigam, Ismail Durbar said that the two singers have been around for several years before making it big. "These two towering singers have not become a phenomenon in the last one or two years," he said.
To a question on how he has managed to playback singing commitments with hosting 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' earlier and now 'Voice of India', Shaan said he believes in Gajendra Singh's passion for scouting genuine musical talents from across the country. "Singing has to come from passion. I am against commercialisation of music," he added.
