Meet the Star Ya Rockstar contestants

Zee TV Entertainment has introduced a new music reality show Star Ya Rockstar which will be aired every weekend from October 8, at 8.30 pm. The show will unearth singing talent in well-known television artistes such as Ragini Khanna, Neha Marda, Sachin Pilgaonkar, Sumit Raghavan, Mansi Parekh, Chhavi Mittal, Manish Paul, Vikas Bhalla and Debina Bonnerjee.

The show will be hosted by Mona Singh. The competition, spread over nine weeks, will be judged by music director Anu Malik and singer Alisha Chinai. Here's how some of the contestants rate their chances.

Chhavi Mittal

"I am very scared of reality shows but this is one show that I really wanted to do because of my fondness for singing," says Chhavi who has been an amateur singer since her childhood.

"I have always got positive feedback from my family and friends whenever they have heard me sing. Good or bad, we are all singers and there is hidden talent in all of us. I think this is the right platform for me to showcase my talent. I want to see how the viewers are going to react."

Asked who is her toughest competitor on the show, she says, "All of them are amazing. The competition is going to be tough, fun, and exciting. The whole idea is to show a different side of us."

Sumeet Raghavan has juggled between being a TV actor, model, theatre artiste, dancer and an anchor. What we didn't know is that he used to be a pupil of the singer Suresh Wadkar.

"I chose acting over singing," he says. "I was the runner-up in the Marathi Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and also the winner of Say Shava Shava, but this is a huge platform. All of us have been selected after auditions and it's not a fun show. Viewers will see some serious singing happening on the show."

"Singing," says the expert, "is not only about the sur, but also about the feel. The advantage of being an actor is you can feel while you sing." So, as a singer, what does he think are his strengths? "I don't want to sound pompous but I am good at everything," And his weakness? "Sorry, I don't know this word!"

So who does he think is the best singer among the lot? "Sachinji is very good, I have heard Mansi and Raginni for the first time and they are also good, so it will be fun."

Neha Marda aka Gehna of Balika Vadhu says, "I am passionate about music and always felt that I can sing. I want to explore this side of mine and see whether I can really sing.

My mother felt right from my childhood that I am a good singer and I should make a career in music. That is one of the reasons that I have taken part in this show. "All the participants are outstanding and I think we all need to pull up our socks because there is tough competition ahead."

Neha's favourite signers are Shreya Ghosal and Sunidhi Chauhan. "I can connect my voice to Sunidhi," she says. Did she get any tips from anyone? "My fiance's family is from a musical background, so they have given me some tips like not to eat/drink anything that is cold which will affect my vocal chords."

Mansi has tested her vocal chords in the Gujarati version of Sa Re Ga Ma on Zee TV. "Parthiv Gohil, my husband, was the host of the Gujarati show and I was a participant.

That is how we met and fell in love. He is the one of the reasons that I am on this show. He is my backbone and gives lots of tips on music." Mansi is a trained singer and it's like she is going back to her roots. "I first learnt to sing from my grand mom, a Bengali song. Later I trained in classical music for eight years." She adds, "The celebrity participants will be trained and mentored by professional musicians.

It's going to be a learning experience for all of us." And what does she consider to be her strengths and weaknesses? "I can emote with my song, bring out the emotions. But I can't sing in the high range so I have to pick songs that are within my limits."