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Is what music composer and coach Himesh Reshammiya is looking for in the The Voice - India
Sneha Mahadevan (DNA; June 11, 2015)

Along with working on his acting career, Himesh Reshammiya is also juggling as a coach on The Voice – India. Here he talks about what he likes about the show and what he is looking for. Excerpts...

What prompted you to take up this show?
The concept was very unique, different and successful in different countries. For a coach, this whole process of blind auditions and selecting the voice, only on the basis of the sound was very interesting. Also, the buzzer round and then convincing the contestant to come into my team in a very entertaining way, was fun. Also, I as a composer, am always looking for new voices. A lot of singers have come up through reality shows and I am glad I can help that.

What is the one thing that will make you turn your chair around?
Definitely a voice that can sound unconventional. A very unconventional melody, sometimes might not work universally, which is a pressure as a composer for me to deliver. After 650 hit songs, the pressure is not just to give a good song, but to give a good superhit song. I need to make compositions that are fresh and I have been reinventing ever two years but they have to be universally appealing, yet different in terms of sound. All my singers are unconventional yet accepted by the industry.

So all these contestants you choose, will you be grooming them after the show as well?
In every reality show, if I have promised a break, I have always done that. That’s one added advantage being a composer that at the moment if I am looking for and selecting a voice, I know what kind of songs it can work for. I can help with the practical implementation of those songs in the industry.

How is your bonding with the other judges?
Fantastic. Mika and Shaan have both sung many songs for me. That relationship is great. We have been working together since so many years now. I have done reality shows with Shaan and Mika both. Sunidhi I am working with on a reality show for the first time but since we have been bonding in studios for so many years, that chemistry is still intact. This is tongue-and-cheek, healthy, fun rivalry. It is entertaining. You are fighting for a contestant and not for a personal reason.