by Subhash K Jha

Hyderbadi hero Hemachandra has been ousted from Sa Re Ga Ma. The race is now between Debojit and Vinit.

In this Thursday's episode, when Tabu will be seen as the star-guest, the audience poll on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa hits an all-time high.

The programme's producer and director Gajendra Singh says the show received a whopping recording-breaking 1 crore 25 lakh SMS in the audiences' poll section.

Once again Debojit has topped the audience poll this week, with nearly 40 lakh SMS from the Eastern region (Assam, Bengal, Bihar) alone.

"It's a serious problem," says judge Aadesh Shrivastava. "The motto behind Sa Re Ga Ma Pa was supposed to be 'Aapki Choice India Ki Voice.' But how can it be the nation's voice when one sector corners all the votes for one candidate? I'm worried."

But Gajendra Singh seems fine with the regional tilt. "As long as it's the public's will how can we question it? Debojit is a very fine singer. Both Debojit and Vinit are equally worthy of winning the finals."

While Vinit corners about 22 lakhs of the audiences' vote this week, Hemachandra lags behind with 22 lakh votes and gets eliminated this week, thereby paving the way for the grand climactic jugalbandi between Debojit and Vinit.

Thursday's star guest Tabu, a keen student of poetry and music, will be seen getting bowled over by the quality of singing. "She reacts to the lyrics and poetry like a true artiste. Her rapport with fellow-hyderabadi Hemachandra was instant," says Singh.

On Friday we'll see Subhash Ghai back on the show for the third time in a row, this time with his Shaadi Se Pehle leading man Akshaye Khanna who not only participates with the participants but also sings Nahin saamne tu from Ghai's Taal, thereby winning Ghai over for keeps.

Incidentally, Akshaye Khanna loves to sing on stage. "I'd rather sing than perform live," he once told me.