Six young girls are breaking new barriers in the show Rising Stars

Taking on from the hit international franchise Rising Stars, the Indian reality television show has its own nationwide singing competition. Aspiring singers from different corners of India get to participate in a  show, where they are judged by acclaimed singers Shankar Mahadevan, Monali Thakur and Diljit Dosanjh and the show's viewers who decide the contestants' progress to the further rounds.

This season's finalists include a bunch of feisty young girls who are all set to impress the show's audiences with their singing talent. Not only that there is a diversity of backgrounds they come from and that's what enriches the entire effort of rising stars.

Shreyasi Bhattacharjee hails from Kolkata, and her only dream in life is to make it big in the world of music; she wants to become a famous playback singer. Shreyasi considers her mother to be her inspiration for learning music and her father to be her strength. In fact, her father moved their entire family to Kolkata to support Shreyasi’s love for music.

A simple girl from Patiala, Afsana Khan was the first contestant to be selected on Rising Star. She is the sole breadwinner of her family, supporting her widow mother and younger sisters. Afsana and her family believe that her singing can help salvage the family’s financial situation. Touted as one of the frontrunners of the competition, Afsana has impressed the experts with her talent and her brave outlook towards life.

Contestant Ankita Sachdev has already worked with musical stalwarts like A R Rahman and Sonu Nigam. Having moved from Mumbai to Sydney after marriage, Ankita hasn’t lost track of her Indian roots and continues to perform at Hindi music concerts. In fact, she has a strong backing in the form of her loving husband and in-laws.

Ankita Sachdev Rising Stars

Hailing from a musical family,  Maithili owes her legacy to her forefathers; her grandfather is her inspiration and her father is her teacher. She has participated in Rising Star so that she can earn global recognition for her family’s folk music.

Nikita Boro of Rising Stars

Like Maithili, Nikita Boro, a 12-year-old girl from Guwahati, wishes to fulfil her mother’s dream of becoming a playback singer. While her mother didn't have any facilities to become a singer, she is determined to see her daughter become famous.

Ankita Kundu, a 14-year old girl from Bangalore has been getting rave reviews from experts' and audiences, consistently from her first performance. Her forte lies in singing in different languages like Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and English. She has learnt music from her uncle Late Mr Arun Kumar Chakraborty who was a well-known music director down South. She has also lent her voice to four Kannada movies.

Finally, Chelsi Behura, an 11-year old girl from Cuttack, has been garnering a lot of appreciation from the experts and viewers from her very first performance. Chelsi started learning classical music at the tender age of 9. She wishes to fulfil her father’s dream and become a playback singer. She also hopes to give her mother a better life.

We wish the girls all the best for the competition!