MUMBAI: Veteran singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who had parted ways with Zee reality show ‘Ek Se Badhkar Ek’ after he refused to judge Pakistani contestant Mussarrat, will be back on the panel of judges.
Abhijeet claims that the creative head and production head of the show met him on Sunday night and convinced him to return to the show. However, when contacted Zee business head Tarun Mehra says that the channel is still in talks with the singer and that a solution is yet to be reached. “If we do not reach an amicable solution, the show will go on without him,” Mehra says. The show is judged by choreographer Ahmed Khan and Abhijeet, and a celeb judge for some episode.The singer had left the show last week after Pakistani participant Mussarrat was given a wild card entry in it, and Abhijeet refused to acknowledge the Pak singer, claiming that talented singers like Emon and Harpreet were overlooked in favour of Mussarrat.
Abhijeet, when contacted on Monday, confirmed the development, saying, “Things have been sorted out between me and the show. Ek Se Badhkar Ek is my baby and I never wanted to leave it in the first place.”
The singer, who has earlier been on the judges’ panel of Star Plus’ Voice of India, as well as Zee’s own Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in the past, says he was not aware that the show would include participants from across the border.
Abhijeet has always been a vociferous opponent of singers from across the border being given opportunities here. He says the show producers were not aware of his stand regarding Pakistani singers.
However, Abhijeet says he is not going to change his stand and will continue to refrain from passing comment on Mussarrat’s performance, or that of any Pakistani talent on the show.