India Post News Service

NEW DELHI: After slugging it out for weeks, the baby-faced Aneek Dhar from West Bengal emerged the 'Vishwa-Vijeta' of Zee TV's popular talent- hunt show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge held in Mumbai. Edging out the other two mega-finalists Raja Hassan and Amanat Ali, Dhar has been reaffirmed as the true voice of India and abroad following a prior victory at Zee Bangla's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.

Raja Hasan, from Rajasthan, was the favorite to sweep the charts till late in the evening. Bikaner was celebrating in expectation of the sing- song triumph. But amidst heavy chanting of Raja's name by the audience, Aneek was announced the champ with the maximum number of votes. Raja was declared first runner-up and Amanat Ali closely trailed to be the second runner-up.

Aneek walked away with an Rs 50 lakh-million contract with Universal Music and a Chevrolet Spark car at the grand finale of the 'Hero Honda Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge - Sangeet ka Pratham Vishwayudh' on October 13. "It feels great to have won this competition. It seems a dream for me. But I want to get out of this dream and restart practicing and sharpen my skills further," Dhar said after winning the popular show on Zee TV.

After his success, an overwhelmed Aneek hugged his mentor musician Himesh Reshammiya and said: "Sir I love you." Bollywood star Akshay Kumar announced the much-awaited results and General Motors' Ankush Arora handed over the car keys, while Puneet Goenka of Zee TV gave Aneek the trophy. "I have learnt a lot from this experience.

I would like to inculcate tips received (during the show) from renowned musicians like Himesh Reshammiya, Vishal-Shekhar and Ismail Darbar into my singing," the teenager said. While Aneeks received over 3.6 crore votes from over 100 countries through SMSes and internet, the first runner-up got 3.52 crore and the second runner-up collected 3.43 crore votes.

The final show at the Andheri sports complex in Mumbai was a starry affair as actors Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan and singer Udit Narayan along with the five judges - Vishal-Shekhar, Reshammiya, Ismail Darbar and Bappi Lahiri graced the event. Once again the sanctity of such talent- driven shows is being put under scrutiny.

Ismail Darbar, a well-known music director and judge on the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa panel has criticized the voting process, calling it rigged and unfair. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 polled 10.6 crore votes from India and the 132 countries it was telecast in. In fact the drama-filled music contest-cum reality show had toppled Star Plus' Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi from its numero uno position to emerge as the country's No.

1 show. Hasan, tipped to win the competition, was disappointed on losing out, but refrained from comparing his fellow competitors. "Comparison should not be done. It is possible only in sports. We were here to sing and all those who participated in the competition gave wonderful performances, irrespective of the result," Hasan said.

Pakistan's Ali said he was thankful to Indian audiences for supporting him and making him a star. His mother said she did not have any regrets as her son lost out to the best singers of India. Ali, however, regretted low usage of internet in Pakistan which did not fetch him enough online votes.

"Back home in Pakistan, only 10 per cent people use the internet due to which majority of the audience could not vote online. This affected my chances as I received majority of the votes through SMSes," he said.