The sound of music

At the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa set in Malad everyonersquos eyes are glued to the stage Sitting in the audience we ask a woman besides us ldquoAre you here to listen to someonerdquo ldquoMy daughter is part of the chorusrdquo she responds with a glint of pride The iconic music reality show which is now in its 28th year of telecast on Zee TV has churned out stellar singers including Shreya Ghoshal Kunal Ganjawala Kamal Khan Amanat Ali Raja Hassan and Bela Shende But what makes the show relevant even almost three decades onmidday drops by for the technical shoot of the grand premiere on a lazy Sunday afternoonThe control roomWhen we arrive a contestant is performing AR Rahmanrsquos Dil se re from Dil Se 1998 You cannot stop yourself from tapping your foot and moving along with the music almost wishing that it would never stop The set is surrounded by 15 cameras but it does little to distract the singer A group of technicians are already at work in the control room who are being directed by Ashim Sen an industry veteran ldquoI enjoy being behind the scenesrdquo he saysThe masterplanWhile finding the best singer is the ultimate goal of the show this season Vibhor Kaamini Ratna the producer hoped to shake things up ldquoAs a professional my USP is to create a show that reflects Indian ethos and sensibilities Over time I started feeling that the show had become predictablerdquo she says adding ldquoSo this year we decided to give the best performer among the top 12 contestants an original song to sing every weekrdquo This has never happened on television before Ratna informs ldquoThe single will then be released the next week by Zee Music We want every singer to have their own original musicrdquoThe job is entrusted to composers Anu Malik Arko and Himesh Reshammiya among others has already created tracks written lyrics and set the music for every singer ldquoSo before the end of the season irrespective of whether theyrsquove won or not they will have one original song to their namerdquo Ratna explainsRathijit Bhattacharjee Vibhor Kaamini Ratna Ashim Sen and Kaushik MisraKausik Misra head of nonfiction content and key in charge of the creative planning of the show says that everything from brand integration to the timing of the show is part of his responsibilitiesldquoEntertainment is a serious business One should be able to laugh cry and see drama on the show Our idea this time was to not only hear music but to visualise it All our decisions are based on consumer insightsrdquo he says adding ldquoEvery time the momentum drops going by TRPs we try to figure out the reason behind it and try something new Once that is communicated each department takes responsibility to execute itrdquoThe executionGiving an outline of how the show is created Sen explains that once the programming team producer and creative director line up the theme and singers with the channel he is brought on board and that he is their most expensive hire ldquoSa Re Ga Ma Pa is a completely different story than what it used to be when it started The heroes of the show are the singers So the talent has to be impeccablerdquo says Sen who comes from a lineage of musicians ldquoMusic is ingrained in me You go a little off and my dead family members will also get up from their graves My role begins once the contestants are finalisedrdquoBesides directing the show he says the idea is to create a character that audiences can relate to ldquoI am basically a storyteller We see to it that the show continues seamlessly It is the job of the crew to make the contestants comfortable and extract stories from them We then imbibe it to build their characters I donrsquot direct it for myself Irsquom doing it more for my mother my niece my sisterinlaw the maid and my dad who might be grumbling So if I start cringing I know they wonrsquot like what I am showcasingrdquoSen shares that he is closer to the contestants through the camera lensSen and his team decide when and where to focus during different parts of the performance ldquoVibhor is my creative director and producer of the show Vikrant Thakur does the lighting and Kamal Rajput is the vision mixer who cuts on my command Dikshita Kothari is the assistant director She knows the ins and outs of the show and records the timing for every camera shift Then we record it and play it back There is a whole discussion on when the light will change when we take the closeup of the singer the composite shot of the orchestra or when we strum a particular instrument or when it is not working Everyone moves on my commandrdquo he says breaking down every roleSoul and soundWhatrsquos Sa Re Ga Ma Pa without discussing the music in the show After 12 years of exploring and learning musical instruments it was while directing music in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Bangla that Rathijit Bhattacharjee was spotted by the programming team New to Mumbai and making his debut in the mainstream Hindi GEC he says ldquoPicking up instruments from the different corners of the world merging popular music with folk songs and sometimes blending it with classical music is my forte I have to execute the musical vision of the show The idea is not just to present it as a competition but also to give people a different musical experiencerdquo says Bhattacharjee who will be using zen drums stomping didgeridoo water drums marimba fire drums tap dancers the grand piano and nasik dhol among others this seasonldquoI research musical instruments every day and will try to introduce them on the show as it progresses Stomping with feet and sticks is something I am attempting for the first time We will also use the balafon which is a South African instrument for a songrdquo Bhattacharjee says that there are many instruments in India that people are not aware of ldquoEktara for instance is an instrument predominantly used in Bengal We will have another performance where we wonrsquot use any instruments and rely purely on a cappella which uses the voices of musicians to create instrument sounds The trick is to use the right instrument for the right song and ensure that it doesnrsquot sound badrdquo he shares adding that his job also requires him to train with the orchestra on every number decide which singer will croon which song and how every musical piece is different from the others Therersquos a lot that rests on Bhattacharjeersquos shoulders who also plans to use foleymdashsounds from naturemdashto create music this season ldquoThere is music in everything from the water to the car batteries I plan to use them allrdquo