Battles of melody

NEW SHOW

Ever thought of a T-20 match for a musical talent hunt show? Well, that is what the producers and broadcasters are trying to do with Music Ka Mahamuqabla, the latest reality show on Star Plus. Instead of studio sets, the competition will be held in different stadiums and instead of a number of contestants competing with each other, this show will have teams fighting it out against each another!

If that is not enticing enough, the programme will also have all the mentors of previous musical talent hunt shows fighting it out amongst themselves as captains of competing teams. Sounds confusing? Read on to know more about what Music Ka Mahamuqabla is all about.

The show will comprise of five teams, each led by a well-established singer and these teams will fight it out in a 13-week long battle to get the champion’s trophy and other prizes that come with it. And Star has managed to rope in a number of big names to lead the teams. Sample the captains’ list — Shaan, Shankar Mahadevan, Himesh Reshamia, Mika Singh and Mohit Chauhan. Their teams will have handpicked participants from different talent hunt shows in the past, and as with the T-20 matches, the captain will be able to choose his four-member team for the match.
At this stage, the obvious question that comes up is — how is this show different from any other reality show? Apart from the fact that there will be teams led by celebrities, there does not seem to be any change. In fact, even the ‘team’ and ‘captain’ concept was earlier there in a different form (remember the gharana in Saregamapa)?

Explains Shaan, one of the captains, “The biggest difference from other shows is in the form of voting. There will not be any SMS voting in this show. Only the live audience will be able to vote through their voting pads instantaneously. The other significant change from earlier formats is that captains will also sing in the contest along with the other team members. This is something that has not happened in the earlier gharana concept.”

Each week, two teams will fight it out against each other, while the remaining three captains will give their judgment on the performance of the two competing teams. The show, in line with the T-20 game, will be held in a packed stadium with the audience cheering the participants for every good performance and also showing their appreciation by pressing the right button in the voting pad after each performance.
Adds Sanjay Gupta, COO, Star India, “Just when everyone thought that there was no way one could reinvent a music reality show, we are doing that. For the first time, we will see the top names in the industry perform and compete in a musical show. This is a coming together of the A-list, a contest between the best of the best.”

The five captains have been able to rope in a number of good singers from earlier reality shows. Shaan’s team called Shaan’s Strikers will comprise of Anwesha Datta, Debojit and Harshit Saxena, while Himesh’s Warriors will see Vineet Singh, Aishwarya Majumdar and Raja Hassan battling it out. Mika’s Blasters, on the other hand will have Himani Kapoor, Lakhwinder Wadali, Toshi,  Shankar’s rockstars will see Rahul Vaidya, Sharib and Neetii Mohan, performing, while Mohit’s Fighters will have Ameya Date, Hemachandra and Swapnil  fighting it out in the Music Ka Mahamuqabla.
There is also a surprise element in the show. Shreya Ghosal will be joining as the sixth captain in the show. Her team will comprise of Aabhas Joshi, Aneek Dhar and Ujjaini Mukherjee. 

Is this a desperate attempt to package old wine in new bottle? Or will this show have something new? From the format of the show and interviews with some captains, it doesn’t seem that there will be any major change. The voting format may change, the captains or mentors may be allowed to perform, it may be a team fighting against the other, but ultimately it will another competition between the singers we have already seen for months on end in the last few years.
But, considering the fact that the father of musical talent hunt shows Gajendra Singh is making Music Ka Mahamuqabla, one feels there will be something interesting to grab viewer interest.

‘Music Ka Mahamuqabla’ has premiered on Star Plus on December 19.