Director Ravi K Patwa (extreme left) with the contestants and anchor Ravi Ranjan (centre) of Bollywood Calling Folk Singer talent show. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Oct. 21: As many as 70 budding singers from different districts of Bihar gathered at the city museum auditorium today to perform in a talent show “Bollywood Calling Folk Singer”.

The shooting of the show will continue for three more days. Director of the show Ravi K. Patwa said: “There are a number of talent shows currently on air which aim to find singers who can do playback for Bollywood stars. This particular show is looking for folk singers who are connected to their roots. In order to give folk music the recognition it deserves, the show will give an opportunity to budding singers from various states to showcase their talent at the national level.”

The talent show team visit eight other states including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.

Patwa further added: “Auditions will be held at all eight venues across the country and six best singers from each state will be taken to Mumbai where they will compete against each other. Their talent will be judged by a panel of celebrity judges and one of the selected singers will be declared the winner. The winner will be decided through a public voting system.”

The celebrity panel which would judge the participants include music director Ashok Ghayal, singer Indu Sonali and music expert Jyoti Kalash.

Producer of the show Anju K. Patwa, said: “I believe the true spirit of India lies in its folk music. It connects us to our rich culture and ethnic diversity. Due to the efforts of several Bollywood music directors and filmmakers, many folk songs have made it big in the mainstream popular culture. This has helped folk music tremendously. A number of folk songs used in Hindi films have become chartbusters. Folk-based songs are used once in a while but they have a widespread appeal. I am talking about songs like Sasural Genda Phool (Delhi-6), Nimbooda (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam), Bhumbro, Rind Posh Maal (Mission Kashmir) and Udd Ja Kale Kawan (Gadar).”

Richa Rashmi, a participant from Patna, said: “Folk singing is the real singing. It touches our heart and is related to our daily life, like Katni Geet of Bihar is a folk music form that is associated with the harvesting of paddy in the state. It is a workers’ song and is an integral part of Bihar's folk culture. We have a song to celebrate every event, every occasion. We commemorate every sphere of our activity with music and dances, which is really special. The musical expressions provide entertain-ment and also help us to face the harsh realities of life.”

Another participant in the talent show from Ara district, Prabhakar Kumar, said: “I sing Bhojpuri songs which gives me great relief as I relate my thoughts to it. This talent show is a new and innovative concept. It is a great opportunity for singer like us who want to find career in folk music.”

Director Ravi Patwa said: “The show will be telecast on Vision music channel and the winner will get the chance to sing a song for a vision album. The grand finale will be held in Mumbai next month and among the participants, top three singers will be selected. The winner will get a BMW car, while the first runner-up will get a Skoda car and the second runner-up would get a Honda car.”

More singers are expected to come in the remaining three days. The names of the selected candidates will be announced on the last day of the event.

The talent show team will go to Srinagar from Patna.