A Different Note

So what if it’s a little outdated and not in the spotlight like the others. For Durga Jasraj,Doordarshan has and will always be the right platform to present her programme. “All these years,the only channel that has been able to deliver a variety in prgramming is DD. It’s way up there compared to other GEC channels,” says the petite lady,in town to hold auditions for Indian Music Academy’s national talent hunt on Indian music,Idea Jalsa. “And DD is perfect to showcase it,” she insists,giving us an inside on how producers are queuing up outside DD headquarters because they ‘are tired of churning out the same stuff for general entertainment channels’,at the Taj. “Tune into any channel,be it GEC or news,they are all the same. Same people,same programming,same formula,same actors promoting their film and it’s a flop the same week! There’s an overkill and overdose of monotonous content,whereas DD gives that space and freeedom to present something that’s worth it.” So,IMA is back with Idea Jalsa IV,their second run on the telly and this time,they’ll be introducing a talent hunt. “We started in 2006,and since then,Idea Jalsa has seen a progression – from classical to sufi,bhajan,ghazal to qawwali and folk,a slot on television,riding high on the charts,and now,a talent hunt,” which Durga promises will be different for it does not focus just on the vocal chords. “We’re are looking at participants from five to 45 years of age,and they can be from all the seven genres of music,and we are open to instrumentalists too,” informs Durga. What about lyrcists? “This was something even Javed Akhtar pointed out,but we’ve reserved it for the next season. This year,it will be singers and players,and Idea Jalsa will see not one but six winners!” What’s more,the winners will get an annual music scholarship of Rs 60,000 and their performance will be reivewed by stalwarts like Pandit Jasraj,Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Jagjit Singh every six months. “Even the auditions will have young maestros judging the aspirants,” adds Durga who begins her first round of auditions with Jaswinder Singh day after,September 26,at Punjab Arts Council,Sector 16. “We’ll be covering six cities – Delhi,Nagpur,Kolkata,Chandigarh,Bhopal,Chennai and Mumbai.” All said,the best part about this contest is that it will have no voting! “Audiences get swayed by emotions,and vote subjectively. There is plenty of talent across the country,but you have to see the number of smses that pour in from the East,expecially Bengal! This is unfair,and we felt that only a learned panel of judges could do justice….it was the judges who gave us names like Shreya Ghosal and Kunal Ganjawala,rest winners of reality are shows are a blur. This is a real talent show,” says Durga. Be there,9am to 6pm,at Punjab Arts Council,September 26.

Band BAJA!

Meanwhile,news is that Colors is all set to showcase Idea Rocks India 4 where nine music bands selected by Shaan and Vasundhara Das,will vie for the coveted title of ‘Baap of All Bands’. Starting this Sunday,September 27,the fourth edition of the annual musical extravaganza will be presented by Idea Cellular. Shaan and Vasundhara will judge the nine contending teams on the show,along with a number of celebrity judges who will make special appearances in the 13 episode program on Colors,at 8:00 pm every Sunday. The show will be anchored by Karan Singh Grover and Mansi Parekh. Tune in.