Dharmendra and Kirron Kher at Taj Bengal on Monday afternoon

The east is on a hat-trick. “The winners of the first two seasons were from here. The east may get third time lucky too,” smiled Sonali Bendre, looking like a million bucks in a purple chiffon dress. With the Bhubaneswar-based Prince Dance Group and the Shillong Chamber Choir emerging champs in the first two seasons, expectations were high from the region as the auditions of Season 3 of India’s Got Talent, the desi adaptation of the popular international format, kicked off in Calcutta on Tuesday.

“The east always throws up some surprise or the other. We get the best-quality contestants from this region,” added Sonali, a third-time judge on the show, as co-judge Kirron Kher nodded in approval.

IGT CHAMPS: Prince Dance Group (top) and the Shillong Chamber Choir

“The format of the show remains simple — we are here to judge your talent. It can be anything from dancing on one leg to singing in a different manner. Give us talent that makes us sit up and take notice and we promise you a platform,” smiled Kirron.

In the first two seasons, India’s Got Talent has lived up to its promise of a global platform for its winners. While Prince travels the world with its performances, the Shillong Chamber Choir is much in demand, being the highlight of the ceremonial dinner hosted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for President Barack Obama when the US premier came visiting in November last year.

“It makes us so proud that one of our own, people we introduced to the world, a group that honed its talent on our stage, is now a global rage,” smiled Sonali.

While Sonali and Kirron have been a part of the show from the start, the third judge’s chair has seen a change every year — from Shekhar Kapur to Sajid Khan. Occupying the hot seat this season will be the show’s biggest catch — veteran actor Dharmendra, who is making his small-screen debut.

“Over the years, I have got a lot of offers to be on TV, but I firmly believe that there is a time for everything in life. With India’s Got Talent, everything just fell into place,” said Dharmendra, munching on chocolate and looking years younger than his 75.

“He was the handsomest star of his time and he still looks so good. Sitting next to him on the judge’s chair is not only a great honour, it also helps me earn brownie points at home because both my mother and mother-in-law are huge fans of Dharmendraji,” chuckled Sonali.

And how does the man himself look at his TV debut? “It’s such a lot of hard work. I felt like quitting on Day One. TV thakaa deti hai bahut,” is the honest answer. Apart from the rigorous schedule, the Sholay star has, however, fit snugly into the judge’s role. “At the end of the day, we all are judges of talent. All of us go and watch movies and come out critiquing it. It’s an inherent trait.”

“You will love me on the show. I know how to make it interesting. Seat ke saath chipak jaoge,” is the promise from Bolly’s original He-Man.

With the show foraying into smaller towns this season, the judges are hopeful of getting the best talent. “While the big cities have no dearth of talent, it’s the smaller towns that always have an ace up their sleeve,” said Kirron, hoping that the Calcutta talent pool would “amaze” her.

Last year, finalists Underground Authority, a heavy-metal band, and street music act Sanjay Mandal and Group were from the city.

From Calcutta, India’s Got Talent will move to Delhi and then to smaller towns. The show goes on air in end-July on Colors, with singer-actor Meiyang Chang and TV star Gautam Rode replacing Nikhil Chinapa and Ayushmaan Khurana as hosts.

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