Sa Re Ga Ma Pa li’l Champs 6 is down to eight contestants and the competition is getting fierce. On a recent visit to Mumbai, Mehul Malpani chatted up with the talented children to bring you a report on their journey thus far
Those closely following Season 6 of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa li’l Champs have heard some great voices. Now that the reality show is in its final episodes, the contestants are making it difficult for the jury to mark them. Coming from different parts of the country, these li’l champs have entertained the audience by their cute stage presence and spell-binding voice.
Yumna Ajin (11) from Kerala loves Hindi movies and serials since she was a toddler. Her love for Hindi music took off from here. “I got a chance to sing at a family function four years back. I sung a Himesh Reshammiya song. Everyone loved the way I sang,” Ajin says.
When she started training, she had diction problems but quickly overcame them with the help of her teacher. To help her further hone singing skills, the organisers have appointed two ace musicians as mentor-trainers — Qadir Mustafa and Neeraj Kalkar.
“These are miracle children born with magical voices. Our job is to choose songs which suit them and prepare them accordingly. But they know the nuances of music so well that we just have to motivate them and they do the rest,” Mustafa says.
From the time these contestants came on stage, they have won many hearts. One such li’l champ is Shreyan Bhattacharya who started singing when he was just three. “My father recognised my talent and took me to my guru Jayant Sarkar who trained me in classical music, my favourite genre,” says Bhattacharya who is known as the ‘king of romantic songs’ on the show.
Mentors tell you that each li’l champ is special in his genre but the show is meant to make them grow as talented people.
Qawwali specialist Adnan Hussain Sabri (12) wants to emulate qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. “Qawwali is my passion. My father is my guru but I learnt qawwali by hearing Nusrat saheb. There is magic in his voice which compelled me to take up this genre,” says Sabri who aspires to meet his favourite star Shah Rukh Khan.
Then there is this plus-one contestant who has stolen millions of hearts, including judge Neha Kakkar’s. This five -year-old Delhi boy, Jayash Kumar, who calls Kakkar his girlfriend much to her amusement, is a non-competing contestant picked by the jury after seeing his amazing talent. This little bundle has a rare heart condition. It is on the right side of his body. On the show, he is famous as Chhota Bhagwan.
Kolkata girl Riya Biswas who, like most Bengalis, was born with a musical bent tells you that “Jayash is sweet. Most of the time he’s with me but plays with every one, he kisses everyone. He is like a toy here.”
This 13-year-old wants to meet her inspiration lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. “They are my idols and my dream is to perform in front of them and take their blessings,” says Biswas. She is star because of her passion and perseverance.
While the competition keeps the champs busy with practice and grooming lessons, they do get breathers. Recently, their joy knew no bounds when Salman Khan and his brother Sohail came to promote their next venture Tubelight on the show. The kids had plenty of laughs and fun with the Khans as they danced to Dil Deewana... from Salman’s debut movie Maine Pyar Kiya.
“We don’t get much free time but whenever we do, we have lots of fun. We play dumb charades. Now, there are four boys and four girls so we make two teams. At times, we fight also. But, we know what we have to do — we are here to learn and carve a career for ourselves,” Ajin tells you.
Shanmukhapriya (14), the oldest of the contestants, tells you that her musical journey began when her father, a musician himself, caught her humming an alarm tune. This girl from Vishakhapatnam has found a guru in her father and hopes to make it to the top 5.
