Amey Date

He was the runner-up in the 1999 edition of Sa Re Ga Ma and seven years later, he stood fourth in Indian Idol 2. His elimination from the Sony show caused the judges to stage a walkout as the country erupted in protest. Mumbai man Amey Date — who started singing at the age of four and enthralled packed audiences at 16 — is back on the telly in (yes, you guessed it!) another reality singing show. Along with Fame Gurukul runner up Rex D’Souza, Amey is the new challenger on STAR Plus’s Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar. A t2 chat…

What is it about Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar that prompted the decision to return to television?

A couple of factors, to be honest. First, Jo Jeeta…is a show that brings together the pick of reality show winners and participants and that is something that I wanted to be a part of. The fact that STAR Plus is such a huge name in the entertainment world also helped. And I love singing. So any platform that gives me the opportunity to sing in front of an audience appeals to me.

With a couple of episodes on air already, how has the experience been so far?

It’s been pretty satisfying. Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar is an extremely professional show and it does not only have the best in terms of participants, but also has three great judges in the form of Farah Khan and music directors Vishal-Shekhar. I have just started out on the show, but have already hit it off pretty well with everyone.

The other participants are already many weeks old in the competition while you have just come in. Does that place you at a disadvantage?

Well, I wouldn’t call it a disadvantage, but yes it is a fact that the others are much more familiar with the show. They have interacted with the audience and the judges over a period of one month and they are much more comfortable on the Jo Jeeta… stage. Also, coming into the show at this stage increases audience expectations.

The same faces are now coming back to participate in reality shows…

Contrary to what a lot of people may say, I think it’s a healthy trend. The audience is really big on reality shows right now and being seen in one helps in connecting with them. Besides, it is important for a performer — be it an actor or a singer to always be in the limelight because you never know when an opportunity may come calling. And for this purpose, there is no better platform than that of a reality show.

The format of Jo Jeeta... has suddenly changed with two eliminations happening every week instead of one.

I am absolutely fine with it because the new format doesn’t allow people to get complacent. We have to be on our toes all the time since the prospect of elimination looms large over the heads of both Champions as well as Challengers.

Who do you think are the strongest contenders on the show?

Everyone is equally talented but the people to reckon with are Abhijeet Sawant, Debojit Saha and Vineet (Singh) .

And are you close to any of the participants?

Neha Kakkar and I participated in Indian Idol 2. We got along very well. I treat her like my younger sister.

Priyanka Roy