‘Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012’ announces its anchor, JAVED ALI

Top 15 contestants include 3 from Punjab

The grapevine has been buzzing about who will take the legacy of Sonu Nigam and Shaan forward. It’s time to put all speculations to rest as ‘Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012’ reveals Javed Ali as the latest anchor of India’s iconic and the longest running singing reality show along with the Top 15 contestants. The charming and young Bollywood singer has earlier been a mentor on ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs 2011’. Besides singing some beautiful melodies, he will now host this season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and will be instrumental in boosting the morale of the contestants.  The final 15 contestants were shortlisted by the mentors, Shankar Mahadevan, Rahul Ram and Sajid – Wajid along with the viewers picking their favourite singers.

Ajay Bhalwankar, Content Head (Hindi GECs) of Zee TV, says, “We wanted an anchor whose roots lie in music. Sonu Nigam and Shaan were not only iconic anchors but they were also the face of the show. Javed fits the bill perfectly because he has already been associated with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in the past and he is a very talented singer. He is calm, composed and at the same time spontaneous and has a great sense of humor.  We were lucky to see him equally charged at the opportunity to host the show. We wish him all the very best in his new endeavour.”

“The Mega Auditions are over and it’s time to announce India’s ‘Top 15’ contestants who will embark on a challenging musical ride in the quest for the coveted trophy of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012’.” He adds.

Javed Ali, who recently rocked the nation with chart toppers like the title track of Ishaqzaade and the soulful Kun Faya Kun (Rockstar), said, “It’s a huge responsibility that Zee TV has given me to host this prestigious show and I thank them for it. I am working hard to do justice to the role as it will not only be my voice but also my wit, observation and presence of mind taking centre stage. Really looking forward to it.”

The ‘Top 15’ contestants include Kunal Pandit, Vishwajeet Borwankar, Arsh Mohammed and Subhrima Bhadury from Mumbai, Jaspreet Sharma, Shehnaz Akhtar and Arshpreet Kaur from Punjab, Mohammed Aman and Renu Nagar from Rajasthan, Jasraj Joshi from Pune, Padmanav Bordoloi from Guwahati, Parul Mishra from Gorakhpur, Madhuri Dey from Kolkata and Mrunmayee Tirodkar from Goa. Their chances of winning the ultimate recognition in the field of singing will rest in the hands of the mentors for the first few weeks till ‘Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012’ throws open its voting lines to the junta.

Apart from being supremely talented, some of the contestants have some incredible accomplishments under their belt already. Padmanav Bordoloi has already got the golden opportunity to perform at the Nehru Center, London in 2009 with the Late Bhupen Hazarika. Here, in his first ever live concert, he made the audience sing Jai Ho, Vande Matram and even made them sway and dance to Bihu. Jaspreet Sharma, more popularly known as Jazim is a National Gold medalist in Thumri and Ghazal singing. Pune based Jasraj Joshi is a rockstar in every sense of the term. He can sing a classical and rock song with equal finesse and he expertly mixes both genres and comes up with his own fusion number. He has a fusion band ‘Shunya’ which plays in college music fests. There’s also Vishwajeet Borwankar, winner of Zee Marathi’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and currently doing very well in the Marathi music industry. His main motive to participate in Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012 is to showcase his talent in front of a global audience and compete with singers across the country.

Viewers can be rest assured that their television screens are about to crackle with the talent that each of these fabulous ‘Top 15’ contestants will exude and it will be one mammoth explosion of singing talent on television in the days to come.

Stay tuned to Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012 every Friday and Saturday at 9 PM, only on Zee TV!

About Javed Ali:

Javed Ali is an Indian playback singer who has been singing in Hindi movies since 2000. Ali shot to fame in 2007 when he sang the song ‘Ek Din Teri Raahon Mein’ from the movie Naqaab and thereafter another big hit, ‘Jashn-e-Bahaaraan’ from the movie Jodhaa Akbar (2008). He is currently one of the leading playback singers in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu.

As a young kid, Javed used to sing kirtans with his father. He was groomed under the able tutelage of eminent ghazal maestro, Ghulam Ali. His talent was recognized by Anandji of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo who convinced him to pursue a career in playback singing. Today, he sings most of A.R Rahman's compositions. Some of his biggest hits include Jashne Bahaara from Jodha Akbar, Guzaarish  from Ghajini, Arziyaan from Delhi 6, and Tu Hi Haqeeqat from Tum Mile and Deewana Kar Raha from Raaz 3.