Nepali reality show with prize pool of Rs 10 million begins in USA

NEW YORK, USA: ‘Mero Voice Universe’ and ‘Mero Dance Universe’, the first international reality shows, have begun in Ohio, the United States of America.

Organised by the Intra-National Welfare and Support Foundation of America, the shows aims to give a platform and produce artists who are pursuing career in singing and dance, said the Foundation President Dilli Adhikari.

He inaugurated the first audition for both the shows in Columbus, the state capital of Ohio amid the participation of competitors, their families and relatives and Nepali communities clad in Nepali clothing. Audition will take place in the particular countries across the globe, he said.

Audition for singing concluded on Sunday evening, he said.

A total of 187 people from the US, and Canada applied for the singing competition, and 76 for the dance, he said. Under singing category, 15 top participants were selected for a blind audition, and the blind audition takes place in Kathmandu, Nepal. Audition for dancing will take place on February 5 in Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania.

Twelve top participants will be selected from the audition, and its blind audition will take place in Kathmandu, he said.

The selected participants under singing category include Tek Dudhraj from Cincinnati in Ohio, Monarath Tiwari from Texas, Tara Tiwari from Columbus, Sagar Subedi from Pataskala in Ohio, Moni Diyali from Cleveland, Jiban Gurung from Pennsylvania, Manju Lama, Rajesh Subba and Pranim Rai, three from Kentucky, Manish Humagain from New Hampshire, Tek Dhungel from Ohio, Kisan Bhujel from Akron, Nain Magar from Erie, Mon Magar from Vermont and Siddhantha Ale from York.

The jury under singing included musician and singer Keshab Paudel, singer Nalina Chitrakar, singer Arjun Rasaili, and under dancing, Dilip Rayamajhi, and choreographers Shankar BC and Narman Rai.

The shows could be a platform for all Nepali people showing respect to Nepali arts and culture to make the country and themselves known to the world through their art, said Adhikari.

Under both the categories, winner will get Rs 10 million each, he said.

Deadline for the registration in other countries except the USA and Canada is until January 31, and the Europe audition will take place on February 11 and 12 in Belgium, said the Foundation’s spokesperson Keshab Acharya.

According to the criteria, participants should be above 18 years of age, of Nepali origin and speak Nepali language. Before audition, they should show their valid identity card verifying their age, origin and language. Each episode of both the shows will begin after showing a presentation that embodies Nepali culture and spirit, and senior artists contributing to Nepali arts and culture will be honoured.

The Foundation will make payments for transportation expenditure for the participants from the USA, Canada, Europe, Thailand, Australia, Dubai and India heading to Nepal for their performance.

It will bear food and accommodation for the top 40 participants, and accommodation will be managed for all the competitors except those from Nepal and India, who are in Nepal for their performance.