Judges on the reality show, Hunarbaaz: Desh Ki Shaan, were shocked at first when they saw more than a dozen police personnel on the set. Never did they imagine that a police team would be coming as contestants on the show. They were left spellbound when ‘Harmony of the Pines’, an orchestra of Himachal Pradesh Police, gave their performance, and gave them a standing ovation.
The orchestra, which was formed in the year 1996, has now made it to the Top 12 in the reality show. The show is being aired on Colors TV and is also the debut television show of Bollywood star Parineeti Chopra as a judge. The other two judges are actor Mithun Chakravarty and Producer Karan Johar. The police orchestra also got praises from Director Rohit Shetty, who made a special appearance on one of the episodes.
OFFER FROM CELEBRITY JUDGE
When the orchestra played melodies like ‘Bharat humko jaan se pyara hai’ and ‘Vande Matram’, the judges were floored. “My favourite act till date,” said Parineeti Chopra. The team scored full 100 marks and made it to the Top 12 spot in the first shot.
Director Rohit Shetty made a special entry in the mega auditions and after hearing the orchestra, he offered them a background music project for his upcoming film, Simba 2.
Orchestra member Vijay Sharma said, “This show is a great platform for us to showcase our talent and we are honored to make the judges happy. Getting a project from Rohit Shetty is itself a big achievement and will definitely be a great exposure for all of us.”
DUTY WITH PASSION
The 15-member orchestra is being led by Sub Inspector Vijay Sharma for the past 22 years. He told Indian Masterminds: “The group consist of 15 members out of which 13 are males and two are females. All of them are versatile artists and are unique in their own way.”
Mr. Sharma is working in Himachal Police from the past 24 years and is inclined towards music from a very early stage. However, due to some issues in the family, he couldn’t learn it. Despite having enough resources or people to learn music from, he used to listen to the state’s folk music and be around artists. This developed his interest even more and after getting selected in HP Police, more doors opened for him to pursue his passion.
Soon he started learning music while serving as a police officer and even got a five-year degree, Visharad, in classical music. He was then included in the orchestra in 1998 and started leading the two members then. Other members were included gradually and finally the group became 15-member strong. However, pursuing a passion while working as a police officer was a tough job.
SUPPORT FROM SENIORS
Mr. Sharma further said, “After Sanjay Kundu sir got appointed as the new DGP, we got a lot of support from him. He knew that we had talent but didn’t have good instruments and a platform. Within no time, he met all our needs and gave us the liberty to perform wherever we wanted. Such efforts coming from the head of the police motivated us even more.”
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr. Jai Ram Thakur, also gave his approval for the first ever police band in the country.
All the 15 officers, who were previously working in different areas of the state, were brought to Shimla so that they can practice together and achieve more through their common passion for music.
