'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' winner Ankita Bhattacharya makes stage debut in Canada

Q. What inspired you to go into Saregama, and how was the journey?

A. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa was a long journey for me. Before Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, I auditioned for a lot of reality shows, but I could not make it, which persuaded me to give up music and go back to studies. But when I was finally able to crack it, I found myself in the top 19 out of 45. The reality show's journey taught me a lot of things, and through the gradual hustle, I made it to the top 6. (She finally won the competition).

Q. Do you think the judges were a challenge in your journey?

A. The tough judgement given by the judges at different stages of the journey was quite difficult for me, but it helped me reach where I'm now.

Q. What was your inspiration?

A. My mother was the first one to teach me music. It was my mother's voice that I first listened to, and I followed her steps. and my father used to sing well too, but as he became the backbone of our family, he slowly fell out of singing. I too love listening to Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, and Muhammed Rafi sing their songs.

Q. What were your recent playbacks?

A. I gave my voice in the title track of Avijt Sen's Projapoti and Haranath Chakraborty's Oh! Lovely.