A singer might be proficient at Sufi, rock, pop or jazz, but a music director can make him or her sing songs of every genre, feel composer duo Sajid-Wajid, who are set to judge Zee TV’s reality show “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar”.
“It is up to a composer to bring the best in a singer. But yes, the capability to sing has to be there. No one ever thought Sukhwinder (Singh), who is known for his Sufi or mastana (jolly) kind of songs, could sing a romantic number like ‘Haule haule’? But it was the composers who saw him with that eye,” Wajid said.
“We had composed a ghazal and we made KK sing it. He doesn’t sing ghazals, but we felt he was perfect for it. We practised rigorously and it came out beautifully. Unfortunately, the film wasn’t released. That’s what we will do on ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ – try to bring out the best in each contestant and then groom them,” he added.
The duo, who have composed songs for films like “Veer” and “Wanted”, is on the lookout for versatile playback singers on the show, but they want to first groom them and point out their strengths and weaknesses.
“We want singers whose basic structure and foundation of singing is right because such talent can be groomed. Once we know their strengths, we can show them the right way. But essentially we are looking for a good and versatile playback singer which is hard to find,” said Wajid.
His brother Sajid said: “We are not looking at meeting star singers on the show. We will make them stars during the course of the show. We will give them right feedback and help them recognise their weak points and work towards improving it.”
Many shows were offered to them, but they chose to be part of “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” for certain reasons.
“We used to come as guest judges on ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ when Sonu Niigaam and even later, when Shaan used to host the show. The base of the show has remained the same through the years. It has produced some great singers for Bollywood like Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghoshal, reinforcing that it is a genuine show with immense talent,” said Wajid.
“Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” has been running successfully for the past 15 years, and the success rate of its participants has been much higher than most shows of its genre.
Sajid agreed saying: “‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa’ is different than most other such shows. The selectors have been good, the executors are nice and talent is loaded. It has been rocking since so many years and we are very proud and lucky to be associated with this sort of a show.”
At the same time, the duo strongly feel such shows do not guarantee long-term success.
“No stage promises another stage. These shows can give you the first push and platform, but then it’s entirely your journey and up to the contestants to chart it. How else would you explain the success of Shreya (Ghoshal) and Shekhar (Ravijani)? Sanjivani (Bhelande) had also won this show, she sung a few songs… but could never make it as big as these people.
“Some people climb up the charts, few give up… their success is up to them provided they have their basics right,” said Wajid.
With music composers Vishal-Shekhar and bhangra-pop singer Daler Mehndi also on the judges’ panel, “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar” is expected to go on air in August.
The auditions for the show were held in 12 cities – Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Lucknow, Nagpur, Guwahati, Indore, Baroda, Bhubhaneshwar and New Delhi.
