Kitne Saare Idols!!

In recent times, we as television viewers are witnessing a plethora of talents being introduced to us through various singing contests. In many ways, these contests have prooved to be a major revenue generator for the television channels.
Zee TV was the trendsetter in this context when, way back in early 1990s, it started Sa Re Ga Ma. The contest introduced talents like Shreya Ghosal and Kunal Ganjawala who later went on to become one of the leading singers of Bollywood. Many more talents emerged out of Sa Re Ga Ma. One such talent was Sanjeevani who later went on to sing in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Kareeb. The program also helped its host Sonu Nigam cement his place in the industry as the numero uno playback singer.

Next to come was Meri Awaaz Suno on Doordarshan which was hosted by Anu Kapoor. The biggest discovery of this contest was the winner of the contest, Sunidhi Chauhan, who went on to lend her voice for almost all the actresses of Bollywood. From Ruki Ruki in Mast to Mere Haath Mein in Fanaa, Sunidhi Chauhan has really prooved her mettle all through. Today, she can undoubtedly be considered as one among the top three playback singers of Bollywood.

In 2004, Sony Entertainment Television started Indian Idol, which was actually a replica of American Idol. The show had three prominent film personalities as judges - music composer, Anu Malik, choreographer, Farah Khan and playback singer, Sonu Nigam. The contest became the cynosure for

all the young and upcoming singers across the country as it offered 1 crore to the winner along with a luxury car . The opportunity was perfect for anyone itching to make an instant mark in the film industry and get a perfect launching pad for his or her professional singing career. Abhijeet Sawant emerged as the winner. Contestants like Prajakta Sukre, Rahul Vaidya, Amit Sana too got ample opportunities to proove themselves on the show and later on, they received offers from various filmmakers for playback singing.

Soon to follow on Sony Entertainment Television, was Fame Gurukul. Though the program didn't garner appreciable TRPs for the channel, compared to what the first edition of Indian Idol did for Sony, yet it created significant professional opportunities for the winners- Rooprekha Banerjee and Qazi Tauqeer and also for Rex D'Souza and Arpita Mukherjee who were the other contestants in the show.

In 2005, Zee TV started Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge which introduced some of the most promising talents of India. Contestants like Himani Kapur, Nihira Joshi, Debojit Saha, Vineet Singh and Ujjaini Mukherjee were some talents who not only prooved their versatility but also were equally adept in presenting themselves and interacting with the audience during their performances, which in fact is very much essential for stage shows.

Debojit Saha emerged as the winner of Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005.
The second edition of the Indian Idol which concluded in April 2006 , was won by Sandeep Acharya from Bikaner.
Though Sandeep was declared the winner but there were contestants like Antara Mitra, Amey Date and Karunya(who finished as the Runners-up in the contest) who definitely left their mark on the audience and can safely be optimistic about getting suitable recognition in Bollywood as playback singers in the near future.

Definitely, its a matter of great pride for our nation that there is so much depth of talents in our country but then, the point to ponder is that are all the finds of various contests going to be suitably accomodated in the Indian music industry. Can all the promising talents who have been or are being offered a platform through the contests going to gain recognition and establish a firm foothold in the industry? Can all of them look forward to convert their passion into their professional career in future?

The questions need to be answered as otherwise they will stay as 'idols' in people's memory for sometime and then fade into oblivion as it has happend earlier on many occasions with many promising artists. The entrepreneurs and the 'big names' concerned with the film and music industry need to work positively in this regard so that these promising talents gain the limelight they deserve . Frankly speaking, some of the above mentioned talents have the potential to shine as the brighter stars of India's musical galaxy in future, provided they continuously refine their talents and keep getting the kind of opportunities they deserve.