The new season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has started from 19th September 2026 on Zee TV. Shankar Mahadevan is the judge in this season. Singers from all over the country are showcasing their talent in the show. During this, Shankar Mahadevan talked about the grandeur of the show, new talent, power of music, popularity of artists in the era of social media and increasing use of AI. He told that an artist is not identified only by his tone and technique, but the special feeling present in his voice also matters, which reaches straight to the heart. He shared memories of his initial days with new artists and narrated an interesting anecdote related to Arijit Singh. Question: What special will be seen this time in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa? How have you seen the show develop? Answer: This time the theme of the show is mega. Whatever Sa Re Ga Ma Pa or other reality shows you have been watching till now, multiply that level tenfold. This time the show has been prepared at the same level. Whether talking about the set or the musicians, there are around 100 musicians and around 100 chorus singers. Folk artistes and local dancers from different states of India have also been included. Question: You also mentioned folk artistes from different states. This time, along with music, Indian culture has also been given a special place in the show? Answer: Absolutely. Artists from Odisha, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and other states are showing a glimpse of their culture here. Therefore the show is also culturally rich. It is a wonderful representation of music and culture. For this reason it has been called the ‘musical place of India’. Question: That means, along with culture and grandeur, the quality of music is also most important in the show? Answer: Absolutely. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is one of the oldest and original singing reality shows. It’s been almost 31 years. No matter how well you dress up a person, make him wear big designer clothes, but if he does not have soul and life inside him then he is of no use. The life of this show is its music. The quality of talent and music here is strong. Question: When you talk about the show, you are describing music as its soul. How does the visual and dance element added to the show make this musical greater? Answer: The visual and sonic experience added on top of this is a wonderful experience for the audience. We too were surprised to see this. I didn’t even tell my children about it. I have two children, Siddharth and Shivam. Both are associated with music, compose and also perform. I surprised them and showed them the first episode straight away. When he saw the show, he was also surprised that he had never seen such a level before. I think Zee TV, the producers, directors and the creative team have tried to give the audience an experience that they have not seen before. Q: You said the real lifeblood of the show is its music. Proceeding from this, what do you look for first in new artists – tune, style or something else in their voice? Answer: Everything. Actually, singing is just a medium. An artist has his own aura. It doesn’t just come from his singing, musical knowledge or ability to perform. God gives such a thing in an artist that he just stands and sings four lines and people get attracted towards him. This is the miracle of Mother Saraswati. Question: That is, sometimes an artist, despite being technically very good, does not leave that much impact, whereas even in an ordinary voice, there is something that touches the heart? Answer: Absolutely. There is something in the voice of an artist that directly touches the heart. Thousands of people can sing a song with the right pitch, movement and feel, but there is something different in the voice of a particular artist. Lata ji sang ‘Lag Ja Gale’. Many people can sing it in tune with each other, but when Lata ji used to sing, why was there something in it that reached straight to the heart? This is the question. Question: So how do you explain that ‘something different’? Is this something beyond music technology? Answer: Yes, it is ahead of tune, ahead of rhythm and even ahead of music. The music is given by Mother Saraswati. Now listen to the voice of Sadhu Tiwari in a song of ‘Hanuman Ansh’. His voice is not a very classical voice, but there is something about it that directly touches the heart. This is the gift of Mother Saraswati and the grace of Hanuman ji. Therefore music is a spiritual and powerful medium. It cannot be weighed completely on any scale. Question: When the way of music and artist recognition is changing, is it necessary for every new singer to aim to become a film playback singer? Answer: No. Gone are the times when every artiste’s dream was to become a film playback singer. Today every artist can create his own identity. Social media has become such a big medium that artists can connect directly with their fans. This is a completely different era. Question: That means today an artist has many ways other than films to make his mark? Answer: Absolutely. Today, many artists coming out of reality shows are busy. They are earning money, setting up their own house and living life in their own way. Many artists are earning more than if they had gone to an office and worked. Today artists have many ways to work and make their mark. Question: But social media, along with making the way to identity easier, has also accelerated the popularity. People go viral quickly. In such a situation, what is necessary to survive for a long time? Answer: This is what I say that there are two types of artists. Some artists get a sudden spike in their careers. As quickly as the spike comes, it can also disappear just as quickly. There are other artists who are talented, know their art form, know about tune, understand raga-ragini and are immersed in music. Question: That is, according to you, sudden popularity is not enough, the artist should also have a deep understanding of his art form? Answer: Yes. Such artists are more likely to stay for a long time. This doesn’t happen only in singing. This happens in every field. Be it a dancer, singer, painter or actor. Sometimes an artist suddenly becomes popular and people ask what is there in it. But after some time he disappears. This is a normal phenomenon that happens with humans. This happens in every art form. There is nothing new. Question: Today social media is a big platform for artists, while on the other hand AI is also rapidly becoming a part of music. Do you think AI will become a challenge for new singers? Answer: AI is the next big step in technology. Just like after landline telephone came cordless telephone, then came mobile phone. Similarly, technology has been continuously progressing. Earlier there used to be big computers in the entire room. After that computers became smaller, laptops came, then tablets came and today a lot of things are done on the phone itself. Question: So you see AI as the next step in the evolution of technology rather than a threat? Answer: Yes. AI is one of the biggest revolutions in technology and it is going to be with us for a long time. But any technology can be used in the right or wrong way. The phone through which you are interviewing me can also be used for wrong purposes. Similarly, AI can also be misused. Question: What kind of danger do you see from misuse of AI in music? Answer: For example, took someone’s song and made a copy of it. Released him without informing him. These are wrong things. AI has a lot of features, so it can also be misused. My only point is that AI is a wonderful and revolutionary technology, but it must be used responsibly. Question: If AI is such a powerful tool, how should artists use it properly? Answer: Just as you can cut vegetables with a knife, you can also misuse it. Gas also has to be used responsibly. Similarly, AI should also be used responsibly. AI can help you think. For example, if 100 years ago I had asked you how much would be multiplied by 985 by 533, you would have sat and calculated. Today you use a calculator immediately. Question: That means AI should be used to simplify human thinking, not to replace it? Answer: Absolutely. AI will help make your thinking easier and better. In many cases you won’t need to recreate something that already exists. But creativity should be yours. You are the creator and you have to decide what to do and what not to do. The final decision should be yours, not the AI’s. Question: You said that the final decision regarding AI should be made by humans. Similarly, at this stage of your career, when you look at new artists, do you see your old self in them? Answer: This happens many times. When a child comes here and sings and works hard, we remember our days when we used to be nervous and meet people. In the beginning, we also used to meet people and touch their feet. Today these children come and touch our feet. Question: How is this change of times an experience for you? Answer: This seems a bit overwhelming. It seems like time is passing so fast. You are becoming a senior musician and new youngsters are emerging. In my view, we should use this time to love the youth and take them forward. Question: While working with new artists, do you ever feel that it is more the responsibility of promoting them than competing with them? Answer: Absolutely. It should not happen that we think that I did not do it, so you should also not do it. The competitiveness within us should come out. We should always give love to our youngsters. They should give positive energy and positive feedback. We should help them move forward. Question: You have heard thousands of new singers over the years. Did you realize in the beginning after seeing such an artist that he would become a big name in future? Answer: It seems like this about many people. I knew about Arijit Singh that he would become a superstar singer in future, when he was eliminated in the fifth round. It was about 20 years ago. At that time, I, Javed Saheb and KK, all three of us were judges in ‘Fame Gurukul’. Don’t know why Arijit Singh was out of the show after public voting. Question: Despite being out of the show, what did you see in him that you thought he would become a big name in the future? Answer: Even after that, Arijit always remained in my heart as a person and an artist. Still there today. I was very happy when he became a big artist. Today he is working on his own terms. I was very happy to see him step forward, because I had a lot of respect for him from the beginning.
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शंकर महादेवन बोले- संगीत ही आत्मा है: एआई का जिम्मेदारी से इस्तेमाल करें, वायरल लोकप्रियता नहीं, हुनर कलाकार को टिकाता है
