The writing is now on the wall. Reality shows are not the gateway to playback singing. And for those who even get an opportunity playback in films still remains a dream. The likes of Sumedha, Harshit and Irfan will testify.

Sumedha Karmahe, often referred as the ‘Chhattisgarh ki Barbie doll’, was told on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 that Mahesh Bhatt has made her an offer for playback singing. Host Aditya Narayan was shown holding a piece of paper.

Since that day, Sumedha Karmahe has been waiting for a call from the ace Bollywood director-producer but to no avail.

“I never made any offer. It was merely a gesture of encouragement. The producer, Paresh Agarwal, came up to me and sang praises of this talented singer from Chhattisgarh. Because, she was from Chhattisgarh I felt the need to encourage her. But there was never any contractual understanding,’ says Bhatt.

However this has not embittered the singer as she explains, “its ok. These things happen. Often we find people from Bollywood make tall promises on reality shows but seldom do they keep their promises. I’m not too perturbed by it and have moved on life.”

Meanwhile, for Voice of India finalist Harshit Saxena, it is a case of so near yet so far. Right after Voice of India’s finale, the singer told Tellychakkar that he would be crooning in Mahesh Bhatt’s film Raaz 2.

It is known that Vishesh Films provides platforms to new talent-be it singers or actors. But Raaz 2 released recently and both the film and the songs turned out to be a hit. However, Harshit’s name was missing from the list of singers. So what went wrong?

“There were certain complications. I can’t disclose the reasons. Well, things didn’t work after new music directors stepped in,” said Harshit.

According to sources, Harshit had sung few songs in Raaz 2 but the music director was changed and in stepped Harshit’s VOI colleague Toshi, who composed the music with Raju Singh and Gaurav Dasgupta. It is also rumoured that Harshit and Toshi are not the best of friends. Out went Harshit and Toshi bagged a hit song.

Toshi cannot be solely held responsible. A friend of Harshit’s informs us that the singer’s attitude has cost him dearly.

For Irfan Ali (Voice of India), he managed to get a song in Jannat – another Mahesh Bhatt film. However, it was chopped off for reasons best known to the makers of the film.

“I’d sung a very good track for Jannat. Unfortunately it got chopped off. Perhaps, it didn’t go with the situation. However, I’m not upset. It’s never easy to get a break in playback singing. One needs to have patience,” the singer philosophies.

“One must remember that there are never any absolutes in the world of movies. Nothing is signed and delivered if the film fails to take off. I’m one of the very few men from this industry who has launched several newcomers,” concludes Bhatt.

Right said Bhatt, don’t count your chickens till they are hatched.