IT all started when I was around seven and always used to sing along the songs when they were played on cassette or TV. My visit to bathrooms was the time when I used to stretch my vocal cords and would sing proper. It was when my next-door Bengali aunty told my mother that I am actually a decent singer was I officially designated as a singer.
I was given a chance to perform at an inter-house competition in the school and was awarded the best singer. When I joined college, lots of my school friends were with me and so was my reputation as a good singer. First year in the college, I was Mr Fresher, best singer, best performer. One of these days I watched a late night show on a Channel where there was a singing competition.
The auditions for one such show were on at our city and hence I reached the designated place at 6.30 am. There were people everywhere, people with guitars, iPods, drums and what not. My first round came around 4.30 pm and I managed it all right and was selected. The second round performance happened at 11.45 pm in front of sleepy judges. The result came at 3.30 am and I was through. I was instructed to reach Mumbai within 10 days with a scheduled visit of at least 20 days.
I went to Mumbai with my uncle and reached the studio. There were so many contestants there, boys and girls, handicap and blind, rich and very poor. All were there to perform their singing skills. I cleared the first round at the studio and almost 70% contestants were rejected. We were now 24 people left out of 18,500 contestants who were selected in the initial round. There was a sense of pride amongst all of us. We were all put up in a suburb apartment with 10 rooms on twin sharing basis.
That’s how my trip to singing show started. We were all performing and I was going very strong. By the end of two week only 12 of us were there and hence we were now shifted to a better place with more facility that also happens to be closer to our studio. We were now also under “Mentors” who were the leading musicians in the industry, and were made to perform in front of them.
So, the time arrived when only the last six contestants were left. It was almost 40 days since I reached Mumbai. I was now asked lot of things about my family, my friends, my interests, etc. On one of the festivals the producers asked me to go to my hometown and, to my surprise, one camera unit also accompanied me. My mother , though not a very emotional types, was requested to shed some tears while welcoming me back. My sisters were asked to tie rakhis on my hand as I missed that auspicious festival. I was also asked to visit my college and everybody, including my canteenwala, was interviewed and asked question about me.
The show had now four boys out of whom one was blind and two girls. I can now say that not all of them were great singers. One of the girls was a ravishing beauty who would use all her charms to get the work done. She was just an average singer. The worst of the lot was the blind guy. He couldn’t sing for nuts. Now all our performances were recorded one and we use to Lip-sync in front of the camera.
The final round had only four contestants left. To everybody’s surprise the girl who was one of the better singers was not selected. To top it all she was asked to cry in front of the camera and her family was also made to weep. We were also told to make those sad faces. From singers we were also trained to become good actors.
So, it was amongst four of us now – the blind guy, the beautiful girl and two of us male singers. I fancy my chances now. I knew that I was amongst the better singers left. We were made to change our wardrobes, were made to wear flashy clothes, were also taken to a NGO who was working towards physically disabled children and made to perform a song there.
So, the D-Day of finally arrived. We were all made to record two songs each that too in cuts, i.e we were asked to sings two-three lines at a time and then those were recorded. We were told that we should hold the mikes in such a way so that the lips are not visible to the crowd and camera (as usual we were lip-syncing) .
Just before the final recording I was told to meet the producer and the director at their office. I was politely told that I am not going to win this competition but the girl is. The logic given was sponsors wanted somebody glamorous who can speak well. Myself coming from a small town could not speak English, I am just 5’3” and not very fair. I felt like crying but was told to save it for the camera.
It’s been almost one year now. Though I was declared a runners up there I am nobody. Except for the two songs that were promised to me by my Mentor, I am yet to get any songs. I perform at Durga Puja, Dandiya, school functions, club function and some how manage my expenses.
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