Shankar Mahadevanreturns to the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa judges’ panel with Li’lChamps, the season forchildren, currently on airevery Saturday and Sunday, 9pm on Zee TV.

You have been on Zee TV since Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009. You were also back in 2012 and 2021.

I did a lot of other music shows in between. But I have been with Sa Re Ga Ma since the start. For the launch, we had gone to Benaras and performed there. I used to come as a special guest. Sonu Nigam was the host. This was the pioneering music show on Indian television. I have also composed songs for the top five contestants. (Producer) Gajendra Singh used to have a lot of ground events. I have performed on the ghats of Benaras, along with Girija Devi, Sivamani, Louis Banks, Rashid Khan, Rajan-Sajan Mishra... I have come to this show in various capacities. This is the first time I have come for the children's version. It is the most enjoyable, soul-satisfying and happy experience.

Tell us about the participants.

The kids are just incredible. I am so pleasantly shocked. Koi ghazal ga raha hai, some are singing classical, some are yodeling, some are playing the ukulele... incredible talent! A girl who sang ghazal playing the harmonium blew me away.

When these children play the harmonium, it seems disproportionately bigger than them!

Yes (laughs). This reminds me of my childhood when I was about seven years old and I had performed first time at a small temple in Chembur. When I used to play the harmonium, I could not reach the bellows. My uncle Raju Mama used to sit on the other side and pump the bellows for me to play the harmonium.

There was a girl who did brilliant taankari — her father drives an autorickshaw — Dhyaneswari Ghadge. Do you push such contestants to sing in other genres?

If a child is classically talented or sings ghazals beautifully, I normally tell them to stick to the genre. In the adult category a few years back, there was a singer called Jazim Sharma. He used to sing only ghazals. Now he is singing on the same platform as Hariharan, Pankaj Udhas and Anup Jalota. Of course, he does Sufi songs also but it is ghazals which have made him famous. There is another boy called Mohammad Aman. He came up to the finals but could not win due to public voting. He has sung in Bandish Bandits, the best series on music, one of the biggest OTT musicals. He is singing in all the music festivals with reputed classical musicians. I think it is better to stick to your core competence and develop that fully rather than singing classical today and rap tomorrow.

If you ask reputed singers like Udit Narayan or Kumar Sanu to sing heavy metal or if you ask me to sing in English, why would we do it? Will a jazz musician suddenly be able to sing Indian folk? Better to master your art. A gynaecologist need not do brain surgery.

Talking of jazz, you had performed on the same stage with jazz stalwarts like Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jimmy Heath. Christian McBride, George Duke 10 years ago at the United Nations General Assembly Hall. Even there you stuck to your own roots.

Yes. This was at a global concert when Unesco had declared April 30 as International Jazz Day. Indian classical music is like water; it finds its way anywhere.

Having judged several children’s talent hunts now, what is your take on these shows?

These are great platforms for children as a focal point towards which they can work. When I was a child, I did not know what to do with my talent — where to go, where to sing, to whom to sing… What use is that art form when you do not have people to hear or appreciate it? Now these reality shows provide an audience to appreciate their talent. It is not as if tomorrow these children will start to sing professionally. They are children, after all. But it’s the first step toward developing their art form.

The girl from Sikkim, Jetshen Lama, is also a revelation as she has such a soft-speaking voice.

Yes. And when sings she is a mini Sunidhi Chauhan!

Is this the first time you are on the judges’ panel with Neeti Mohan and Anu Malik?

When I did Rising Stars. Neeti was there in one of the editions. With Anuji, this is the first time. He is great fun. He does sher o shayari, kafiya milana... quite a personality!

What about your sons? Shivam, the younger one, seems to be your carbon copy. What about the elder one?

Siddharth has composed for 12-13 Marathi films already. He is composing, he is singing… he sang in Chhapak, Toofaan... The good thing about both my children is they are musically inclined and they understand good music. There is a film on OTT, starring Madhuri Dixit called Maja Ma. Siddharth has (jointly) scored in that also. It’s a great song (Boom Padi). People are doing Reels with it.

As a composer, would you prefer a film with your music to release in the theatres first or are you ok with OTT release also?

The times have changed. If it is a good film, what matters is it should reach out to the public. Our next film with Zoya Akhtar, The Archies, is for Netflix. The compositions are all locked. Shivam is also singing in that. As much as people love going to the theatres, they also love watching films at home.