On a hot Friday afternoon, six youngsters are busy doing a ‘mosquito step’ in the bylanes of Srinagar Colony. As passers-by watch with amusement, Anurag Kulkarni, Pradeepthi Pasumarthy, Yashwanth, K. Lakshmi Pragna, Saika Beerval and Rahul cross their hands in sync. “This is a step to kill mosquitoes and is done in style,” say the group as they pose for a photograph. Unabashed like their music on Bol Baby Bol Gurukul aired on Gemini, the boys and girls’ group is having loads of fun as their voices zoom across the television sets to viewers’ homes. This new season of Bol Baby Bol hosted by Hemachandra and Sravani Bharagavi and ‘maha guru’ Koti, Kalpana and Sumangali as judges, is making a melodious splash on the small screen with its concept. Forty-eight senior and junior male and female singers sing together as pairs but they are judged differently according to the set parameters.
This group comes from varied backgrounds but have bonded well because of their love for music and the fun atmosphere on the sets. While the seniors Anurag is a B.Tech graduate, Pradeepthi works as a HR in Tech Mahindra and Rahul is a playback singer (with movies like Dammu, Rachcha and Eega to his credit), Yashwanth and Lakshmi Pragna are school students, Saika is an intermediate student from Sri Chaitanya. How do they manage their studies and television shooting? Saika attributes it to the training by guru Ramachary. “He has taught us time management along with music and he says one needs to be a good human being first. He taught us the ‘LPL mantra: Learn, practice and listen.’ We even have an LPL What’s App group,” she says with a smile.
Pradeepti (has sung for Charmme in Mangala ) says it’s the passion for music which helps her to balance her work and music. Rahul calls the pairing of junior and seniors as the USP of the show. “It’s fun when children get to sing along with youngsters like us. We make most of the moment, sing together melodiously and walk away smiling,” he says. The sets of Bol Baby Bol Gurukul are buzzing with activity and with special episodes on film personalities, the shooting schedules are a blend of music and loads of masti . “We sing in different genres and modulate the voice according to the genre. Kalpana mam (one of the judges) gives us tips after observing our style and voice. It is a good platform to analyse ourselves,” says Anurag Kulkarni. Talking about the prize money offered in the programme, Sai Vamsee Dutt, producer of Bol Baby Bol Gurukul says, “When a tune is being played on the show, viewers can become a simultaneous participant and guess the tune, message or call up. The fastest and correct answer will win equal amount of prize money as the kids who guessed it. And the money is not gratifying any individual. The entire money is collected into money box and the winning team takes it all. It’s the team which wins not individuals.” This move, the makers say has broadened the viewership base and is catering to different segments of audience.
The group says it is all fun till the elimination rounds begin. “It would be heartbreaking then,” they say. Till then, let the music play.
