In an attempt to take advantage of new generation television programmes to promote traditional art, Doordarshan, along with the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth (SPIC MACAY) has come up with a television programme ‘Naad Bhed’, a reality show for Classical music. This is claimed to be the first reality show in India based solely on classical music.

The show will be hosted by veteran actress Shabana Azmi. The Doordarshan authorities said they are also in talks with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan to co-host the programme.

The show, named as ‘Naad Bhed’ or ‘The Mystery of Sounds’, will see participants vying for the Rs one million prize money in Hindustani and Carnatic music. Those who are not more than 26 years of age and have at least four years of training in classical music from a guru can participate in the programme. The competitions will be conducted in three categories under Hindustani and Carnatic music styles each, namely, vocal, instrumental and accompanist.

In a press meet held here on Friday, Doordarshan Thiruvananthapuram Kendra Deputy Director General (P) P K Subhash said SPIC MACAY and Doordarshan will produce the programme, taking on board great maestros of Indian classical music as judges, like Prof T N Krishnan, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Begum Parveen Sultana, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and others.

A total of 24 candidates will be selected from the audition round in each regional centre, including Thiruvananthapuram, from which 12 will be shortlisted again for national-level. The quarterfinals will be conducted at Chennai under Madras Music Academy for Carnatic Music and at Kolkata under Sangeet Research Academy for Hindustani music. All these rounds will culminate in the finale that will be held at Mumbai.

Awards will be given in six categories. A cash award of Rs 2 lakh will be given to the winners in each category. All finalists at national-level will receive Rs 10,000 as an appreciation reward.

The auditions for the show will begin in August this year. The national-level competition will be broadcast all across the DD network, including DD National & DD Bharati. The last date to apply for ‘Naad Bhed’ is July 31.

Applications can be downloaded from the SPIC MACAY website www.spicmacay.com/naadbhed. For more details, contact: 9895203014, 9496824988, 8089481068.

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