Varun and I were never friends – Sachin Tyagi

Singers often make bad actors. Actors who’ve tried their hands at singing have fared disastrously. However, actor Sachin Tyagi has proved this wrong by winning the celebrity singing show Jjhoom India. His win has raised hopes of actors aspiring to be singers. The recently crowned champion spoke to Mayur Lookhar on his Jjhoom India journey. What do you think enabled you to win Jhoom India? Your singing or your appealing personality? I’d like to say it’s my singing but honestly speaking, it’s a mixture of both. That’s what you need to win a reality show. Right from the first episode, you were the front-runner but you were not at your optimum best in the finals. Did the pressure get to you? There was no pressure. It’s just that I wasn’t able to enjoy myself on that particular day. Throughout the journey, I missed out as the top scorer only on one or two occasions. Your critics believe that you won because you were popular. Comment I won by overwhelming margin and that should be enough to silence all those Doubting Thomases. As the most consistent performer, it was only right that I won the contest. How much credit do you give to your mentor? Oh! There’s no two ways about it. All credit has to be given to Madhushree. I always had the ability to sing but never the will. She made me work extremely hard and diverted my energy in the right direction. I consider myself very lucky to have someone like her as my mentor. Did you ever feel the need to consult Jjhoom’s voice expert Ananth Vaidyanathan. How did your mentor react to it? I never went out of my way to seek his help. Mr.Vaidyanathan was given a task and like any other contestant, I too sought his help when required. My mentor Madhushree never had any issues with it. But this apparently didn’t go down too well with some of the mentors. That’s not my concern. I was least bothered with what others had to say. You claimed that you were not here to win friends but the contest. How is your equation with Varun? Varun and I were never friends even before the show. But let me assure you that there’s no bad blood between us. On the contrary, we know each other better. From day one itself I made my intentions clear. The format of the show was also put under the scanner. In fact, one of the participants aired his discontent over it. Your comment. To blame the format after you’re eliminated is no excuse. All of us were aware of the rules before and if any one had objections, they should have raised it in the beginning. It’s surprising to see that someone who has spent 20-30 years in the industry didn’t get hold of rules. Are you referring to Shekhar Suman? No. I’m not speaking about Shekhar per se. All I’m saying is that if you’re an experienced artist, then you shouldn’t crib over such thing. After all, you get just one chance and must make the most of it. I too got eliminated once but I never faulted anybody. Just because you didn’t have the b***s to win, you can’t fault the format. Going by the TRPs, the show was below average. Whatever curiosity it generated was for it’s controversies. Do you agree? No. I tend to disagree. Considering that Jjhoom was on Sahara One, it generated good TRPs. Moreover, it’s unfair to compare our show with Sa Re Ga Ma or Voice of India. Viewers simply look for good music. In our show, it’s the entertainment value that attracts one. Jjhoom is more about offering entertainment and star value. With regards to controversies, they’ve been an integral part of any show. After winning Jhoom, is playback singing the next stop for you? Why not? Jjhoom India has given me the opportunity to explore another avenue, so why shouldn’t I take it. At the moment, I’m concentrating on my album which is due to release in a month or so. Will acting take a back seat? Not at all. I will continue to act and sing. That’s my primary occupation so the question of holding back simply doesn’t arise. So, can we expect Sachin to sing, dance and also showcase a six-pack ala Shekhar Suman? (Laughs) I’m comfortable with the way I am. I’ve never tried to emulate others. I’m happy to be myself