NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has launched a new talent show on ghazal singing, Jashn-e-Begum Akhtar, to commemorate the centenary year of Padma Bhushan Begum Akhtar, on DD Urdu.

The all India hunt has been conceptualised to look for a talented voice that can carry forward the legacy of ghazal singing. The idea of the show is to encourage the youth to reunite with their roots and values and appreciate the beauty and dignity of Urdu language.

The regional rounds of this competition were held at five regional kendras: Kolkata, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Delhi and Mumbai, to facilitate equal representations from different regions. There were 112 participants from Delhi.

Participants between the age group of 18 to 40 years were invited to take part in the reality show. The selected 15 candidates from each of the regional rounds performed in the mega and pre-final rounds that were held in Delhi from 9 to 14 January.

The singers were judged by an esteemed panel of Padamshri Dhrupad exponent Shanno Khurana, Padamshri Shovana Narain, Dr. Rahat Indori and Prof. Wasim Barelvi. Popular playback singer and performer Peenaz Masani was the anchor for this series. Along present along with the panel were eminent classical vocalist Rita Ganguly, who had conceived the programme in 2012 and Additional Director General Anita Sinha, who got it cleared and executed.

The final round will be held in March 2015, where five finalists will perform in front of personalities like Kavita Krishanmurthi, Hari Haran, Javed Akhtar, Gulzar and Zakir Hussain. The top finalists will be awarded suitably. The finalists are Rageshree Das (Kolkata), Oshin Bhatia (Delhi), Krishna Nand (Lucknow), Santa Kundu (Kolkata) and Sourabh Salunke (Mumbai).

The various selection rounds will be telecast on DD Urdu, DD National and DD Bharati.