Exclusive- Yashoman Apte, Sharayu Date, Sankarshan Karhade, Ketaki Bhave Joshi, and others share their ‘Singing Star’ experience

A new reality singing show is going to entertain the Marathi audience soon. Popular playback singer Bela Shende, actor-singer Prashant Damle and music composer Saleel Kulkarni will judge the show which is hosted by actress Hruta Durgule. Singing Star has a unique concept in which popular Marathi actors Aastad Kale, Sankarshan Karhade and Yashoman Apte will be performing with their mentors. Aastad Kale - Savani Ravindra, Sankarshan Karhade - Ketaki Bhave Joshi, Yashoman Apte- Sharayu Date and others will contest in the upcoming show. Speaking exclusively to ETimes-TV, the actors and their mentors shared their excitement. Excerpts…

- Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar

I am doing two projects at a time, Aanandi He Jag Sare and Singing Star and managing two shows is a bit challenging for me. I rose to fame as a singer because of my TV show Phupakhru where I sang almost 5 songs for the series. So people know me as a singer, too. I am excited and nervous about this new show because being a bathroom singer and performing on the stage in front of the judges are totally different. I am a big fan of Prashant Damle who is one of my inspirations. I am glad that Sharayu is my mentor. I and Sharayu do our riyaz on video calls. She also helps me with the technicalities of singing. I am sure I will not disappoint my audience.

Sharayu is the mentor of Yashoman in the show. Sharing her experience of working with Yashoman, she said, "First of all, I am happy to be back on the set after a few months of gap. The show's concept is new and fresh where singers and actors will be performing on the set. This is my first experience of mentoring someone. I have individually done experiments but now I have to explore Yashoman’s capabilities. So I am equally excited. He is a capable singer and I am sure he can sing all genres because his voice is suitable for all. Mentoring is a big responsibility. I am happy that Yashoman is very hard working and I would love to support him as a mentor.

Sankarshan is one of the contestants of the upcoming show. He said, "I know the pronunciation of the words perfectly because of my command of the language. But what happens when an actor sings is that he performs keeping all the technicalities in mind. So, he tends to miss the emotions. But in my case, I perform with all emotions but there is no sur and taal (He laughs). An actor should practice every day and I am glad that I am doing it. If you are a good actor and can't even use the proper technicalities in your performance, then you shouldn't be there on the stage. Also, I am ready to take each and every response and comment from the audience or judges positively.

Ketaki, mentor of Sankarshan, said, "Sankarshan is very talented and I am sure his command on the language will help us while doing Riyaz. I keep in mind that I am mentoring someone who is not a professional singer. I know Sankarshan has a very good voice and there is no doubt that he will surely impress the judges and his fans.

Hosting a TV show for the first time is exciting for Hruta. Talking about it, the actress said, "Actually, there is no pressure. I am most loved as Vaidehi but people will now know me as Hruta. This is the first time that I have to be myself in front of the camera and not playing any character. So, I am excited for that. Hosting involves pressure but I feel I perform better when I am under positive pressure. I am extremely happy to be back on television as a host. I will not disappoint anyone or myself but just explore hosting and have the fun of it."

- Interview by Vaishnavi Gavankar