Fenil and Bollywood

By Vickey Lalwani (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 19, 2009)

Himesh Reshammiya believes in having his cake and eating it too. He will soon sign up for a music reality show where he will compete with prominent Bollywood singers such as Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shankar Mahadevan, Mohit Chauhan and Mika.

And hold your breath.Himesh has apparently demanded a whopping Rs 8 crore to shoot for only 20 days. Himesh had made it clear to the channel that he wouldn’t be part of the reality show for anything less than the aforementioned amount.

A friend of Himesh says, “Himesh had to switch the channel he had been working with over the years just to be part of this new show. Naturally, he clearly laid down his terms and conditions.”

The channel didn’t think twice before agreeing to his demands, “Himesh is an entertainer and the channel is heavily banking on him and this show to get more eyeballs over the weekends,” adds the friend.

The show is expected to launch in December. It was earlier titled Music Premiere League but will now have a different title.

Anupma Mandloi, content head of the channel and Himesh remained unavailable for comment.