Blazing his own trail

Star-kid Aditya Udit Narayan is Indian television's confident new host.

In all probability, the name Aditya Narayan will fail to ring a bell. There's very little chance of people recognising him immediately. He struts about with a spiked hairdo, flaunts Narendra Kumar outfits, looked all scrubbed and squeaky clean.

Look closely and he's even sporting a gym-toned body. A rich kid? Yes. Anonymous? Not quite. Not when you add "Udit" to his middle name. Aditya Udit Narayan is the 19-year-old son of well-known playback singer Udit Narayan.

But that's not his only claim to fame. For the past 3-4 months, Narayan has been gradually carving out his own identity, trying hard to break away from the "papa's sonny" tag.

For now, the TRPs indicate that he's way ahead of his dad too. While Indian Idol, on which Udit Narayan is currently a judge, shows a TRP of 2.7, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is already marching ahead with TRPs of 5.5.

But it hasn't been all that simple. As the brand new anchor of Zee's most popular programme Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, the young Narayan came into the show when a lot of shuffling was taking place.

When Gajendra Singh (the previous director) left the show after 12 years, taking with him the popular anchor, playback singer Shaan, along with some of the previous judges (including singers Abhijeet and Alka Yagnik, and music directors Aadesh Shrivastava and Jatin-Lalit), Sa Re Ga Ma Pa's reins came into the hands of Gyan Sahay, who was previously the director of photography.

With Sahay as the director, the search for the anchor began and Narayan ended up becoming one of the potential candidates for anchoring the show, after Zee officials saw some of his stage performances.

"I didn't want to be the 'sweet, sharif anchor' and I was clear that I wanted to look my age on the show," says Narayan.

Was he apprehensive of taking on a role that was made popular by both Sonu Nigam and Shaan? "I knew I had to make a mark with my own style," he says, a tone of superb confidence in his voice. Sahay, for one, feels that the young anchor's USP is his language. "He has a very good control over his language and is communicating well with the participants and audiences alike," says Sahay.

What's nice about Narayan is that he's even singing confidently in front of all the judges and contestants. Unlike Nigam or Shaan, who were established playback singers while anchoring the show, Narayan hasn't had too many songs to his credit recently, even though he was a popular child playback singer and actor. So while the other contestants (most from his own age group) are being graded for their singing abilities, Narayan invariably has to reach the stage to anchor, sing, and excel, in front of the judges.

And while confidence is not what he lacks, sometimes it's a feeling of overconfidence that one hears in his voice "" ironically, a characteristic that many say is crucial for someone who wants to be a part of this industry.

"Thanks to my father, I have been a part of the industry ever since I was born. When I was four years old, I performed for two hours non-stop at my own birthday party. I was going to recording studios, earning as much as Rs 12,000 as a kid for each song, and carrying my own little briefcase with headphones, a personal letterhead and cassettes. So in that sense, I am familiar with how it (the industry) functions."

What was difficult was trying to give himself a break when his voice started cracking at the age of 13. "It happens to all boys and since it happened while I was in a recording studio, yes, I did feel a little hurt and cried for a couple of days," he says.

He started concentrating on academics and completed his studies in commerce, before flying off to London to finish a two-year-diploma in contemporary English music. It happened at the right time too, especially as his father grabbed the limelight for all the wrong reasons "" finding himself in the thick of controversy when a lady claimed he was her husband.

Though tightlipped about the incident, Aditya feels that the tag of being a "star kid" has its own pitfalls. "People are quick to judge you, think you're a brat and feel that everything's wrong with you," he says.

London, in his view, was the perfect refuge. "I was the only Indian, the underdog and had to prove myself on my own merit. That really helped me and for two years I found myself on my own little journey," he tells us.

But what about those who think he's overconfident already? "I'm learning to tread cautiously. Like the other day, when I interrupted one of the judges on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, I was asked to keep quiet. None of that footage was edited and in that sense I wasn't spared. It was shown to audiences and I learnt that my views needed to be undisclosed while the cameras were rolling."

For someone who is already juggling live shows and anchoring, Narayan hopes to sing for contemporary music director duo Vishal-Shekhar, while also looking at a career in acting. "Earlier people 'concluded' that Aditya will only be a singer, now they're 'confused' whether Aditya will only be a singer or do something else. I want to explore all facets of creativity," he says.

Narayan is confident of himself, and for now his popularity is soaring, thanks to the brilliant TRPs of the show. Teenagers are watching the show for the "cool dude" and girls in that age bracket are becoming his fans.

For now, Narayan, in his own words, is, "confident, happy and working hard". But really, perhaps for the first time on Indian television, an anchor of a show has begun his journey along with other contestants. Let's see how far he goes from here.

BYTES

Link ups: "I've already been linked with singer Sunidhi Chauhan, actor Jiah Khan and Mouli, one of the contestants on the show"

Comparisons with others: "I haven't stepped into anyone's shoes. Shaan has his own shoes, Sonu bhaiya (Nigam) has his own pair, and I have my own"

On the show: "I told them (Zee TV) that I won't be an anchor with a side parting, wearing a goodie-goodie suit and behaving like an uncle"

On talent hunt shows: "I can't comment on other talent hunt shows, but we at Zee have the best package"

Star kid syndrome: "People who are quick to judge children of well-known personalities should be slapped hard"