Sa Re Ga Ma Pa back on Zee TV after four-year hiatus

The singing-based talent show which first aired in 1995 on Zee TV is back with a format innovation

After a gap of four years, Zee TV's 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa', the reality show which is based on identifying India's singing talents will be back on the channel on March 26. It will air on Saturdays and Sundays at 9.30 pm.

Amul is the title sponsor for the show while Flipkart is the powered-by sponsor. Hyundai, too, has joined the show as a sponsor. Singers will be picked to compete in the new season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, after screening 50,000 entries over eight weeks of auditions across 14 cities.

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa first aired on Zee TV in 1995 and the last season was telecast in 2012. The show's version for children titled 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs' was aired in 2014. The show has evolved its format over the years, from episodic winners to a pyramid structure.

The new season will see a format innovation with the selection process split into three levels. Aspiring singers will go through a jury round, the mentor level, and finally, public voting. The jury at the first level will be a panel of 30 experts across the music industry, including playback singers, musicians, and technicians, who will assess the contestants right from the audition stage, and help the mentors in the selection process.

The show, which has produced over the last two decades, singers such as Shreya Ghoshal and Kunal Ganjawala, will have in its forthcoming season, popular singer Mika Singh, and music directors Pritam Chakraborty and Sajid-Wajid as the 'mentors' on the show. Aditya Narayan will host the show.

Commenting on the launch of the new season, Zee TV business head Pradeep Hejmadi says, "Having wrapped up a successful second season of India's Best Dramebaaz, which is another home-grown format that encourages the creativity and acting abilities of children, we now present our most iconic non-fiction property. Having pioneered the space of talent-based reality television since 1995 and served as a beacon of hope for countless singers across the country, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa continues to grow from strength-to-strength with each successive season."

Through its successful brand extensions such as Li'l Champs, the platform has also nurtured the vocal talents of gifted, young children. "With its presence of over 21 years, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's upcoming season promises to be younger, refreshing and more entertaining than ever before," says Hejmadi.

Essel Vision Productions business head Akash Chawla says, "This season marks a strong differentiator for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa as we introduce a new format. We have enlisted the support of 30 music connoisseurs - experts in the music fraternity, who will aid the selection process right from the outset. This will be the first time that a singing reality show will have a jury of experts beyond its mentors to arrive at the finest talent."

According to Ganjawala, one singer will be evaluated from 30 different perspectives of music. "So, the challenge for each aspirant only gets tougher," he says. The hunt for the country's best singers has spanned across 14 cities including Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Patna, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Dehradun, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Indore, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.