MUMBAI: Real, the newly launched Hindi entertainment channel will launch a music talent show, �Sitaron Ko Choona Hai' from 9 March.

The musical show will be aired every Monday to Thursday at 8 pm.

Sitaron Ko Choona Hai will look out for performers and would judge singers not only for their singing skills, but stage presence and performance as well. The show will witness 12 participants contesting to win the best singer title and they would be groomed and styled by the mentors, much like producers Miditech's earlier effort, Fame Gurukul.

The mentors on the show include Raghu Ram of MTV Roadies fame, singer Neha Bhasin and vocalist Prashant Samadhar, who had also been a part of Fame Gurukul  Raghu would be the head of the academy, Neha would instruct on the aspects of performance and Samadhar would provide vocal training to the contestants.

Talking about the format of the show, Bhasin says, We are essentially looking for new age performers who have a persona of their own and can interact and hold on the audiences. The era of playback singers is over and today singers have to prove that they can be like actors in Hollywood who sing and act themselves."

Apart from polishing the vocals, the show would also focus on areas of technicalities like sound check, grooming by designers, choreographing while on stage, interaction with the audiences etc.

What makes the show different according to Bhasin is the personal involvement by the mentors. In music talent hunts, the mentors usually appear on the day of performance but are not involved in grooming the contestants.

Being a product of reality show Channel V Popstars herself, Bhasin believes that reality shows then were very unpredictable and virginal. Having seen so many reality shows, today the contestants have pre conceived notions about reality shows and much of the move is planned....

The show has been created by Delhi based production house Miditech, which also has Indian Idol, which just ended its fourth season, for Sony Entertainment Television.