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To each his own

All in the game On the sets of “Ek Se Badhkar Ek”

Reality shows and talent hunts are linking people of India and Pakistan. It is no longer unusual to see and hear Pakistani artistes on comedy shows and singing competitions. Zee TV’s Ek Se Badhkar Ek continues the practice wi th Musarrat Abbas, a Lahore-based artiste whose presence so rankled Abhijeet, one of the judges of the show, that he refused to award marks to the youngster. “Apne desh mein singers bhooke mar rahe hain aur aap bahar se singers ko bula rahe hain,” he said.

The popular singer complained, “Pakistan does not invite our singers over there. Why should we?” Musarrat, cool, calm and collected, merely replied, “When the President of Pakistan is not safe and secure in the country how can we invite Abhijeet or anybody else? Indian artistes have a very big fan following back home. Recently, a heavy bomb exploded, the effects of which were seen even at a distance of 15-20 kms from the site with shattered window panes. This is the only reason why Indian singers are not invited.”

The issue was amicably sorted out shortly, and Zee continues with the show that it hopes will help it edge ahead of Star in the coming days. Incidentally, Ahmed Khan is another judge on the show hosted by Mandira Bedi.

Musarrat, who has Sanobar as his dancing partner on the show, played the perfect diplomat, thanking Zee TV for giving him the opportunity to perform. “Some time back there was an advertisement for Sa Re Ga Ma in Pakistan. I applied for the same, the judges there were Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan and Fateh Ali Khan. I sang three-four songs before being selected for the show.” Incidentally, Musarrat has also sung the title song of Dhuan Dhuan and discloses that he was about to opt for business as a career before embarking on this path. “This is only because of Zee that I have become a singer. Otherwise I would have gone for the family business.”

Raja Hassan is another contestant partnering Jasbir (Jassi) as the dancing partner. Raja, whose real name is Raza Hassan, is extremely satisfied with what he got from the reality shows, saying, “I do not wish for the moon, I do not have big dreams. I don’t want to own a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce. I want to own a good house in Mumbai.”

Among the other pairs are Aunik, who partners Shayantani, Abhishek who performs with Meenal Jain, and Kushal Punjabi with Sanchita. All the participants are awarded marks for both dancing and singing and the pair that gets the least is eliminated. At stake are Rs.25 lakh.

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